Placentia Treasurer Says Former City Manager Didn’t Improperly Spend Tax Money

Placentia City Treasurer Kevin Larson and erstwhile Mayor Craig Green accidental erstwhile City Administrator Damien Arrula’s recognition paper spending was wrong metropolis policies amidst caller allegations that helium misspent money. 

“He didn’t improperly walk a damn dime,” Green said successful a telephone interrogation past week. “I said yes to each of that [spending]. That was a non contented arsenic acold arsenic that was concerned.” 

“He was the champion happening that happened to this metropolis successful a agelong time,” helium continued. “I’m nary longer connected council, but I judge they’ll rue the time they fto Damien spell retired the door.”  

Larson – who besides publically rescinded his audit petition astatine a assembly gathering past week – said everything checks retired to him aft seeing records showing Green approved the spending. 

“There was thing being swept nether the rug,” Larson said. “There was disclosure, I’m convinced that I saw immoderate things that pb maine to judge Damien was precise unfastened astir what was going on, determination was speech with him and assembly and staff.” 

It each comes much than 2 weeks aft metropolis assembly members unanimously voted for a separation statement down closed doors connected Election Day and paid retired implicit $317,000 arsenic severance positive a twelvemonth of wellness insurance.

While metropolis officials completed an probe into Arrula’s recognition paper spending aft allegations of impropriety, it was not released publicly. 

[Read: Placentia City Administrator Under Investigation For Suspect Purchases]

The probe into Arrula was prompted by repeated concerns from nonmigratory Julie Suchard since March astir Arrula metropolis recognition paper spending and the metropolis installing an electrical car charger successful his parking spot astatine metropolis hall.

She besides has raised concerns astir Arrula sending unit retired with his idiosyncratic car to a car lavation who contracted with the metropolis for car washes, contempt his $800 monthly conveyance stipend and precocious salary.

“It conscionable felt similar each clip helium turned around, helium had nickel and dimed the metropolis for much and much stuff. It annoyed me,” she said successful a telephone interrogation past week. 

Suchard – an accountant who has filed respective nationalist records requests astir spending – questions wherefore the metropolis would walk clip and wealth connected an probe which they person yet to merchandise to the nationalist if Arrula’s spending was approved.

“Why did they walk each the wealth and bash months of an probe If the City Council approved each this worldly ?” she said.

Suchard besides said the separation statement – which she got done a nationalist records petition – bans some the metropolis and Arrula from making disparaging remarks astir each different and believes that’s wherefore Larson backtracked his telephone for an audit.

She said the metropolis should inactive determination guardant with an extracurricular forensic audit.

But Larson, who’s elected by the voters and doesn’t service nether the metropolis assembly oregon metropolis manager, publically defended Arrula astatine the Nov. 19 metropolis assembly meeting, canceling his calls for an audit and saying he’d reviewed records showing Arrula’s spending whitethorn person been approved. 

“I person questions astir whether oregon not the usage of the recognition paper was due oregon not, it looks similar determination was perchance oversight,” Larson said. 

The council’s treatment connected Arrula took spot retired of the nationalist eye, but City Attorney Christian Bettenhausen reported to the nationalist it was a unanimous determination to motion the separation agreement.

“During the closed session, the metropolis assembly took enactment to o.k. a separation statement and merchandise of claims with the metropolis administrator,” Bettenhausen said astatine the Nov. 5 meeting.

Voice of OC has filed a nationalist records petition to the metropolis for the investigation’s uncovering arsenic good arsenic Arrula’s separation statement and different documents.

Screenshot Credit: PLACENTIA CITY LIVESTREAM

Arrula became the apical metropolis enforcement successful Placentia successful 2016 aft the city’s erstwhile fiscal services manager was charged and aboriginal convicted for embezzling implicit $5 cardinal from the metropolis and sentenced to implicit 20 years successful prison. 

In an email Wednesday for the archetypal clip addressing the issue, Arrula said helium wishes metropolis officials and unit continued occurrence and that helium was the people of mendacious accusations.

“It is not uncommon for a nationalist servant enforcement to beryllium the people of mendacious accusations and innuendo successful the tussle of a governmental environment,” helium wrote successful the email.

Arrula, who helped spearhead efforts among 13 North Orange County cities to physique stateless shelters and code the unsheltered crisis, said he’s rigidly followed ethical guidelines. 

“While that is personally frustrating, I admit that the facts person travel to airy that wholly vindicate maine and affirm my adherence to the precocious ethical standards demanded of my presumption arsenic a nationalist servant.”

Some of the erstwhile metropolis administrator’s colleagues are coming retired successful his defence by emailing the assembly oregon speaking retired successful caller nationalist meetings – similar Green, erstwhile Community Services Director Karen Crocker, erstwhile City Finance Director Jessica Brown and retired OC Fire Authority part main Scott Brown. 

In an email she sent to metropolis officials and aboriginal the Voice of OC, Jessica Brown said Arrula rolled retired a big of safeguards to support metropolis finances.

“He introduced respective fiscal policies designed to forestall fraud and guarantee accuracy successful reporting processes. These interior controls were a exemplary for different cities,” she wrote. 

Brown said helium besides boosted fiscal transparency.

“One of his astir notable initiatives was the constitution of a publically accessible physics warrant register, which allowed the assemblage to presumption each transaction with implicit transparency, mounting a caller modular for transparency successful the City,” she said. 

A City Manager & A Public Safety Union

Calls questioning Arrula’s behaviour besides were sparking arsenic helium was negotiating with the city’s Police and Fire Management Association, who issued a ballot of nary assurance successful the present erstwhile head past month. 

[Read: Placentia Police and Fire Unions Vote No Confidence successful Embattled City Administrator]

That ballot came aft the 2 sides deadlocked connected their national negotiations successful April, according to city records. 

Tom McKenzie, the union’s president, did not respond to requests for remark from Voice of OC connected Wednesday. 

Arrula has agelong been astatine likelihood with the city’s nationalist information unions aft helium helped pb the complaint retired of the OC Fire Authority and established an autarkic occurrence department, redeeming the metropolis millions of dollars. 

[Read: Placentia First OC City to Leave Fire Authority and Form its Own Fire Department]

In an email helium sent to metropolis officials and aboriginal the Voice of OC, Scott Brown – who helped counsel the metropolis erstwhile the occurrence section was launched – credited Arrula’s efforts to found an autarkic occurrence department.

“An effort specified arsenic this is nary casual endeavor – Mr. Arrula took the bold steps to guarantee a wide array of taxable substance experts, which included Fire Chiefs from Orange County, Riverside County and Los Angeles County who were progressive successful each phases of the pre-development of the caller department,” helium wrote.

City leaders person besides claimed their model helped chopped down connected effect times successful the city, but it led to immoderate hostility with the countywide occurrence union, according to Green. 

According to a fire section report, the mean occurrence and aesculapian effect times dropped by 30-40% from 2019 to 2021.

“The Jimmy Hoffa schoolhouse of doing concern is live and doing good with this union,” Green said, referencing the countywide firefighters union, not the city’s ain union. “They were nasty.” 

Chris Hamm, president of the OC Professional Firefighters Association Local 3631, did not respond to Green’s comments successful a connection to Voice of OC, but said OCFA was a amended aboriginal for the city. 

“Cutting exigency services, staffing engines beneath the nationalist staffing standards, and removing entree to our world-class specialized services isn’t what’s champion for Placentia,” Hamm said. “This isn’t redeeming money; it’s putting lives astatine risk, some residents and firefighters.”

Suchard said she started looking into Arrula’s spending aft she became acrophobic astir the interaction the power distant from the region occurrence authorization that helium spearheaded would person connected exigency services and recovered retired Arrula was the highest paid metropolis manager successful OC.

She besides said she looked into the spending aft tips from metropolis employees, erstwhile metropolis employees and members of the section enclosure of commerce.

Suchard said she has been persistent astir raising her concerns due to the fact that she cares astir the assemblage and that she hasn’t been moving with the nationalist information unions.

“Sometimes, erstwhile you attraction astir something, your interests align with different people. But it doesn’t mean that that’s the crushed wherefore you’re doing it,” she said. “I attraction astir my community. I attraction astir my city.”

Green said the city’s departure from OCFA near Arrula connected the union’s atrocious side. 

“(Arrula) got things done, helium kept getting things done,” Green said. “Did helium piss disconnected the unions? Yeah, origin helium didn’t kowtow.”

Noah Biesiada is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org oregon connected Twitter @NBiesiada.

Hosam Elattar is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine helattar@voiceofoc.org oregon connected Twitter @ElattarHosam.

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