Grievance

We had a VERY contentious meeting the other night and there were some glaring problems that came forth that may need some outside intervention. 

I am sure that you have been briefed by Octaviano, but I wanted to make a formal complaint about the practice of the Outreach and Finance Committee. 

One issue that is most egregious has been the manipulation by our Treasurer, Danielle Sandoval in the NPG funding process and the lack of transparency in funding any NPG’s. In support of my contentions please find the following ByLaws regarding the Finance Committee and the Treasurers responsibility.  

The Treasurer: The Treasurer shall in coordination with the Finance Committee manage budget and finance responsibilities and shall maintain financial statements including a complete record of all assets, liabilities, and expenditures, maintain custody of all funds and assets of the Council, and report at each Governing Board meeting

C. The Finance Committee:The Governing Board shall appoint the Chairperson o this committee. His/her duties will include 1) calling and presiding over Finance Committee meetings; 2) work with the Treasurer to assure deadlines are met; 3) the Finance Chair shall, with the Finance Committee, review and consider changes or modifications to the Council’s financial policies and then submit them to the Board for approval.

The Treasurer in conjunction with the Governing Board shall develop a written method for keeping the accounting records that complies with applicable local, state and federal laws, which includes generally accepted accounting principles and complies with the Department guidelines. The Governing Board shall provide stakeholders access to all financial records. All records kept by the Treasurer will be available for review by all Stakeholders and the Department. Funding requests and audits will require two (2) signatures including the Treasurer and one (1) other member who has completed the Department Treasurers’ training. The Treasurer shall attend and participate in all finance meetings called by the Finance Chair. Failure to perform these duties may result in removal by the President of the Governing Board with ratification by a simple majority vote of the Board members. 


Let me give you a little history of our last Board meeting that is the cause of my concerns. 

Previously in my past tenure as the Outreach Chair we had the applicants for any NPG come to the regularly scheduled Board meetings and make a presentation before the Board and our Stakeholders. The Board evaluated the proposal and asked questions to clarify the merits of the request and to ascertain whether it was a viable and would pass City funding requirements and how it would best benefit the Council. It worked and it offered a full transparency to everyone. 

Now all that has been dismissed it seems, and perhaps is resultant from the James Allen reign. It now is apparent the our Treasurer has taken it upon herself to determine any request without ANY Board consideration and she receives ALL NPG requests through her committee without any Board vetting or committee assignments. We are NOT privy to what criteria is being utilized to vet the organization or the merits of the request as to how it benefits the community as a whole nor what investigation has been forthcoming on the very organization that is making the request. It just comes to us “out of committee” for vote with the expectations of approval. 

This past meeting we had a request from Clean San Pedro who at best is on shaky grounds financially AND the records from Calif. Attorney General’s office indicates that their 501C3 status is delinquent. When we questioned this we were met with resistance from Finance and several Board members stating that cleanup is good for the community and that we should fund this irrespective of the evidence.There was no proposal nor list of benefits, nor how Clean San Pedro is going to promote our Council. Several of us asked to table this issue as well as the other two  NPG requests in order to allow us to investigate the applicants. We were the minority and were outvoted. Even at the suggestion of Octaviano the motions to fund were passed. 

This whole process has caused great concerns as how we fund and the lack of oversight as we are clueless as to the process utilized for applicant verification and further there has been NO community interaction in this process and in all actions transparency is paramount in all monetary transactions to both the DONE and to the public. There is absolutely NOTHING at this stage and I think that this process could come to haunt us should there be any public scrutiny on how we handle these NPG grants. There is NO accountability nor any serious vetting of any applicant other than taking statements at face value with little or no research or verifications. Further there is not a further verification process to prove that we are getting our money’s worth and promoting our Council to the community at large. 

Additionally one huge issue that we are upset on is the recent request for a Mural from Linda Grimes that came from Land Use and was approved by the Board and sent to Finance for funding. This is a LEGACY project that we have been looking for for a long time and we the Land Use Committee was happy to endorse. The Board voted to support it and it was moved forward for funding. This is a great project that is perfect for the community at large, and not some waste of money for a party at a local event, or any other one day flash-in-the pan event that is here today and gone tomorrow with no visible benefits to the mandate of CSPNC’s outreach. 

At this very same meeting WITHOUT any documentation Danelle claimed it could not be funded. In actuality it turns out to that could as past precedence has proven. Once it was determined that it was in fact actionable, she then set about to disqualify the request from what we feel is her personal agenda. She contrived a complaint against our past President and now Stakeholder Linda Alexander with a conflict of interest because she sat on the Waterfront Arts Association. We cannot fathom how Linda would benefit from any funding as she is NOT a paid employee and she devotes an extraordinary amount of time to our community for many causes. How is this a conflict I ask? It’s come to our attention now that there could be a taint on allowing the funding because of her connections to the arts and I find many of the Board members feel that this is absurd. If there is any taint or conflict it lies with the Finance Committee and their hidden agendas.

At this stage we lack any integrity in the process. We do not closely examine applicants and we do not follow up on entities that have been funded. There is no accountability at any stage of the application and the funding process and it is too easy to collude without oversight. 

Of special concern is the dual meetings of Finance and Outreach and not to mention that they were held on a Friday that was in direct contravention to agreements made at our Board retreat. 

So, in all of this mess it belies the question, how do we rescind the now granted NPG’s and be afforded the opportunity to make the entire process transparent and above board to both the DONE, the Stakeholders, and the City? Can it be done? I know that we are going to have to construct some Standing Rules of some kind, but for the time being we need to reign in the power that is being exercised by a Treasurer and her Finance committee that according to our Bylaws is only authorized to move money and not to make policy or set precedent! 

I fear the possibility or liability and litigation due to our closed and obfuscated methods of cash dispersal’s.

FUNDING ISSUES
Not following DONE mandates and circumventing required transparencies and contro;s with the Stakeholders AND the Board. Treasure has assumed a power that is not mandated and has established a control of funding ONLY her agendas. There is collusion between the Treasure and the Outreach Chair. NPG funding us NOT transparent nor documented as required.

There are issues with the Treasurer and the Outreach Chair that indicate collusion with some if the other Board Members. I fear there exists a Cabal that has been effected by the Treasure and she has stepped far above her station in control. The last NPGs were not documented and there were concerns of applicants 501C3 status. We requested tabling the requess pending affirmation of required status as well as the ability to view the applicants request and the Treasure refused and demanded a vote. Her majority of supporters carried th motion to pass irrespective of the questionable lack of documentation. Our Standing rules number 15 require specific actions and she has never complied.