OROVILLE — A 2022-2023 Butte County grand jury report released in late June details the investigation into complaints against Oroville’s management.
This is the fifth Butte County grand jury since 2011 to report citizen complaints about the city and its range of counselors.
The report, titled “Time for a Change,” examines complaints about technology deficiencies, availability of counselors and staff, a toxic work environment, training and hiring, and the city charter.
In the context of the report, the jury said the city had made incredible progress but had received numerous complaints about the city’s conduct.
“This conundrum, praise on the one hand and disbelief on the other, makes evaluation and investigation (Oroville) a complex task.”
Oroville Mayor David Pittman praised the jury, saying the report was well done with extensive research; and that he sees the issues raised by the jury as a kind of work list for the city going forward.
“My observation is that the grand jury has an excellent tool for inquiring into city government. I’ll say it again, this grand jury probably did the most comprehensive look at things that I’ve ever seen,” he said.
“These things they have found are certainly worthy of the work of the council and the city. And yes, they all have some merits that need to be worked on – it’s that simple. There’s a whole list of things that need to be addressed and worked on, and I think we have the ability to do that. Our finances are certainly in shape.”
Pittman dismissed the observations as his own, and the Oroville City Council has yet to convene as a panel to discuss the report.
The city will file a formal response to the report with the Butte County Superior Court through its city attorney.
Clearing the map
The jury’s report said many rules in the city charter are “outdated at best” and navigating the charter itself is cumbersome.
A city official was even quoted as saying that “it’s not easy” to access the city charter and “the city really needs to improve the website.”
The panel recommended that the city update its charter and municipal code in an easily understandable format that is searchable by the public; and to amend charter rules regarding personnel, hiring procedures, and appointments.
Pittman agreed with the jury that the city charter is outdated and said there are several examples of things that need to be revised.
“We don’t need a baseball commission anymore,” he said as an example of an outdated provision in the city charter. “There are many things that need to be updated, and it needs to be done with a very serious effort.”
Pittman said he would maintain that a city charter would be best for Oroville because it gives the people the power to run the city the way they want.
As for navigating the city charter, Pittman also agreed that it’s difficult and suggested merging the city charter and city municipal code into “one healthy document that’s up-to-date.”
“If you don’t understand these two documents, you’ll never find what you’re looking for. And even my time of more than 40 years in the city … is very difficult and I can’t imagine that the public can find anything about it,” he said.
Communication, website
The jury had difficulty contacting city councilors and staff for interviews.
He reported unreturned calls and emails, and the city’s website had broken links, outdated or invalid email addresses and incorrect phone numbers.
It said several councilors were never interviewed because requests were never answered.
“Interviews with named council members only use their personal cell phones and provide those numbers to those they are in contact with. This works well for those who are ‘connected’ and know how to reach the council member.”
Jury said people should be able to successfully reach city staff and every councilor “without impedance”. He recommended technical training for staff so they can be reached, as well as regularly updating the website.
Pittman said he could not speak to other counselors, but that he had no problems with jurors contacting him.
Legal representation
The jury said its investigation was hampered by the absence of the city attorney and received explanations including “legal counsel is only available on Tuesday.”
The jury recommended that Oroville seek an attorney who is readily available to city businesses “more often than not on a half-time basis.”
Pittman said it was not his observation that the city attorney was unavailable, but he may not be aware of other people’s experiences.
He declined to comment on the finding, saying he preferred the City Council meet first to reach a conclusion.
Advisory direction
The jury upheld violations of the city charter rule that prohibits elected city officials from giving directions to subordinates.
“City council members visit, hang out, or conduct city or non-city business in various parts of City Hall, bypassing the city administrator and disrupting the work of city employees,” the report said.
Pittman said he agreed with the rule; that it is important and must be strictly enforced. He said the rule is in place because it protects officers from following conflicting directions and that councilor inquiries about city morals must go through the city administrator.
Toxic work environment
The report follows the jury’s 2021-2022 findings regarding complaints of “harassment of subordinates” and a designated city employee “using the position to harass subordinates.”
In that report, jurors asked the officers, “Have you ever been made to feel or have you known that officers have been made to feel uncomfortable, intimidated, harassed or mistreated in any way by a member(s) of Council? “
In its investigation, the jury reported that nearly all employees “expressed knowledge of a city employee using his position and authority to harass subordinates, both at work and in public.”
“A shared fear for the future of friends and family, outside of work, was a real and palpable concern for many of those interviewed. The raw emotion was shared by personnel of all races, nationalities, genders and positions, regardless of how they obtained the position they held,” the report said. “The majority of those we spoke to were in sync, sharing unique but similar experiences from a personal perspective.”
The jury recommended that the city administrator choose a leadership training company that teaches leadership, cooperation and respect.
In response to the find, Pitman said, “I definitely appreciate what they found. My job is to create a different environment. We’ll see how it goes. … We have to remember that this was all in last year’s observations, so most of the information they got was before the election. So I’ll just say that the voters of Oroville took care of that problem by electing a new mayor.
Vacant positions
The report raised the jury’s previous findings about staffing. It is noted that the city shares a nationwide problem of staff shortages, but unfilled key positions can cause business to slow down.
The 2017-2018 jury found that vacancies were often filled “on the fly” and five city administrators were hired over an eight-year period, causing negative staff morale.
It also found that a city administrator at the time was acting as director of four city departments at the same time.
It said the 2021-22 jury found similar problems, reporting mismanagement in the recruitment of key staff and, again, individuals holding more than one key position. Violations of city policy and procedures were also reported.
Pittman said the city continues to work on an updated policy and procedures manual.
He said the previous city administrator, who at one point held four management positions, still holds multiple positions, but the city has made progress in filling department heads, most recently hiring City Administrator Brian Ring on Feb. 27.
Citing an example of staff delays, the grand jury reported a problem with access to public records at City Hall. One city official, who was the only authorized supervisor to allow public access, missed their scheduled meeting and in turn forced the jury to return the following week.
He cites this example of how one person holds multiple positions and the lack of cross-training causes delays.
“It’s certainly an observation for any organization,” Pittman said of the staffing shortage. “We’ve had difficulty filling positions and I’m a strong supporter of cross-training … clearly we need cross-training, especially in the delivery of services to citizens.
“Ability to provide services; it’s hard. I’m sad that it happened that they couldn’t visit when they could, and I don’t know the case. … It’s certainly not in the best interest of society what happened to them,” he said.
The panel recommended that an independent consultant review the positions necessary to fulfill the city’s required obligations.
Hiring heads
The jury found that the city charter allows the mayor, if the position remains unfilled for six months, to appoint department heads, which could create an incentive for the mayor to create those conditions.
He also found that the charter requires only three councilors to fire a department head, but five to hire one or one mayor to appoint.
Pittman said it’s correct that a supermajority is needed to hire a department head, but saying three are needed to hire is nuanced because directors have fixed-term contracts and five votes are needed to renew a contract — as thus reasoning that three councilors could vote no to extend the contract.
“I don’t know if I would change that, but that’s the way it was set up. I don’t know how we’re going to have a dialogue to change that; in other words, what is the reason for changing it? A supermajority is necessary because you want to feel really good about who you hire and fire,” he said.
Unlike most cities, whose city administrator hires all department heads, Pittman said Oroville aldermen are responsible for hiring the department heads.
Pittman said he favors a setup like the council-manager form of government, in which the city administrator is responsible for hiring department heads, leaving the council to focus solely on selecting the city administrator.
He said the previous city manager was appointed with a mayoral appointment that he personally disagreed with. He said if the positions are not filled within six months, recruitment must continue.
Fire door
The jury accepted a complaint regarding the replacement of an emergency exit door with a wall during the reconstruction of the police and fire department building.
Jury interviewees believe the door was removed because a car entered the building during renovations. But documents obtained by the jury show the emergency exit door was meant to be removed before the crash, the report said.
The jury said it was not clear why the door was removed.
Pittman confirmed that it was decided to remove the door during the reconstruction and that the complaint received by the jury – that the door was replaced because of the crash – was incorrect information.
However, Pittman said he intends to revisit the removed door since the public no longer has access to the inside of the department.
In closing, Pittman said the task of updating the city’s charter and policy and procedures manual is “an effort worth doing” and will require the city to hire experts to make sure it’s done right.
“I think it’s only fair that we take the grand jury’s findings and work diligently on them,” he said.