Commentary: In this case, silence is not golden

By Doug Spoon, Editor

For a City that claims to be committed to transparency, Menifee is doing a great job of keeping its residents in the dark.

It has been nearly seven months since an investigation was launched by outside legal counsel, apparently in response to a complaint filed by an employee. At no time has there been an explanation of the investigation, even though City Manager Armando Villa and Assistant City Manager Rochelle Clayton were both placed on administrative leave.

After being on leave for four months, Villa was reinstated Feb. 13. There has never been an explanation of why he was on leave or whether he has been cleared of any wrongdoing. We are only left to assume.

Then there was last Thursday’s City Council closed session, which lasted 6 ½ hours with “potential employee discipline” on the agenda. The assumption coming out of that marathon meeting was that we would finally learn who is being held accountable and for what. Instead, there was “no reportable action” coming out of the meeting.

They meet for 6 ½ hours after a seven-month investigation and there is nothing to report? I mean, HR privacy concerns can extend only so far compared to the public’s right to know. Something is going on here.

Worse yet is the statement city officials came up with when Menifee 24/7 started asking questions on Friday. In part, it referred to “a comprehensive investigation related to an employee’s efforts to ensure the City was following policies and regulations related to its expenditures.”

The statement goes on to say that “Although privilege and privacy considerations limit the City’s ability to share further information, the City will be taking immediate action to address the investigator’s findings, including implementing additional practices and procedures that will further guarantee that the City’s compliance with policies and regulations is beyond reproach.”

That indicates that the current system is flawed. What’s wrong with the current compliance and whose fault is it? It must be significant if it’s taken more than half a year to sort out. But instead of answering that question, the statement goes on to say this:

“The City thanks the employee for bringing their concern to the City’s attention, thanks its employees for their cooperation and patience as part of the investigation, and thanks the City’s residents for their patience as well. We look forward to continuing our focus on the implementation of our strategic plan initiatives, vital infrastructure projects, community programs, and other essential services that enhance the quality of life of the Menifee community.”

So we are to believe this whole thing is no big deal? Then why is Clayton still on paid administrative leave? She looks like the bad guy, yet it could simply be that she was the one overseeing misconduct by someone else. We just don’t know. What we do know is, the longer this goes on, the worse it looks.

Also apparently involved to some degree is city attorney Jeffrey Melching. There has to be some reason he has been replaced by assistant city attorney Ajit Thind for all closed sessions regarding this issue. Again, no explanation given.

Menifee 24/7 has been faced with “no comment” responses at every step of the way during this entire investigation. Again, we acknowledge that personnel issues have a privacy element. This, however, goes beyond privacy concerns. It’s a test of the public’s trust in elected officials.

In defense of City Council members, they appear to be at the mercy of Tom O’Connell, an attorney with the Buchalter law firm, who is conducting the investigation. He is the one telling Mayor Bill Zimmerman and others not to discuss the case. But do the council members have no recourse against this outside counsel when it comes to the public’s right to know? Is everyone simply too afraid of being sued?

Zimmerman and Villa had no comment when asked about the case. O’Connell could not be reached for comment.

The employee who is being thanked in the statement for “bringing their concern to the city’s attention” appears to have everyone at City Hall shaking in their boots. The longer this is allowed to happen, the more Menifee residents will wonder what they can actually believe.