WatchOurCity.com emphasizes that the Public Trust
bestowed on Huntington Park Elected Officials assumes
the exercise of their official duties has the best interest of
the City at heart.
bestowed on Huntington Park Elected Officials assumes
the exercise of their official duties has the best interest of
the City at heart.
WatchOurCity.com points out the severity of the fiscal responsibility that rests on
the shoulders of our city's Elected Officials.
Additionally, we also have high expectations of Elected Officials in their exercise of
ethical and mature judgement as they consider spending Public Funds which we
hope will be for the general interest and not for personal or special interest.
the shoulders of our city's Elected Officials.
Additionally, we also have high expectations of Elected Officials in their exercise of
ethical and mature judgement as they consider spending Public Funds which we
hope will be for the general interest and not for personal or special interest.
Pop Quiz
Which 3 Council Members have spent a
combined $28,140 of Public Funds for
Travel and Cell Phone use?
combined $28,140 of Public Funds for
Travel and Cell Phone use?
Which Council Member charged $5,192 in
Public Funds more than his allotted $6,000
travel budget during 2003-2004?
Public Funds more than his allotted $6,000
travel budget during 2003-2004?
Which Council Member reportedly charged
over $3,000 of Public Funds for 2 months
of cell phone use, which includes over
$1,000 in calls to a single phone number
in Rosarito, Mexico?
over $3,000 of Public Funds for 2 months
of cell phone use, which includes over
$1,000 in calls to a single phone number
in Rosarito, Mexico?
| WatchOurCity.com presents Travel and Cell Phone expense summary data, along with Council Salary data as tools in measuring the effectiveness of Huntington Park's elected officials in their Actions, Deeds, Patterns of Behavior with regards to the use of Public Funds. |
"I Do Not Seek. I Find", Pablo Picasso
Name Title Employed Employer Notes
Name Title Travel Exceeds Notes
|
Name Title Cell Phone Notes 12-26-03 1-26-04
|
Source of information: Information here is publicly available as public record obtained through
Huntington Park City Hall, Huntington Park, CA
Huntington Park City Hall, Huntington Park, CA
| Notes: 1. Travel fund allotted to each Council Member is $ 6,000 per year, according to city records. 2. Council Member Ed Escareño has spent all $6,000 of the allowed Travel fund limit Also, he has spent $5,192 on additional travel expenses from Public Funds in the same year for a total of $11,192. 3. Adding Cell phone costs of $3,080 brings his total Public Funds expenditure to $14, 272. This in addition to his combined salary of $35,686, that includes a $350 pay hike he along with Council Members Mario Gomez and Ofelia Hernandez voted for themselves on January 5, 2004. $49,958 is the total that an unemployed Part-Time Council Member costs the city in Public Funds (and this does not include Per Diems, health benefits he may elect to use or other ancillary benefits). 4. Council Member Ed Escareño, in a combined billing period of December 2003 and January 2004, reportedly spent more than $1,000 each month to a single telephone number in Rosarito, Mexico. 5. Council Member Richard Loya reimbursed City for full Cell Phone expense amount. He has spent a total of $395 on travel. 6. Council Member Juan Noguez reimbursed City for $80 of personal Cell Phone calls for 12-26-03 billing period. He has spent a total of $480 on Travel. 7. Council Member Ofelia Hernandez has overspent her travel fund by $242. 8. City Clerk Elba Romo has $255 left in her travel fund of $3,000. City Clerk Elba Romo holds a purely ceremonial position and has spent a total of $2,950, including Travel and Cell Phone use. 9. Council Members Richard Loya and Juan Noguez have spent the least amount of Public Funds on combined Travel and Cell Phone use for at total of $2,309. 10. Council Members Ed Escareño, Mario Gomez, and Ofelia Hernandez have spent a combined total of $28,140 of Public Funds on Travel and Cell Phone use. 11. Council Member Ed Escareño announced during the March 15, 2004 Council Meeting that he was recently hired for full time employment. WatchOurCity.com does not know for how long a period he has been unemployed nor his previous place of employment. 12. Council Member Mario Gomez stated in Campaign literature that he is a Business owner. A Campaign endorsement by then Vice Mayor Ed Escareño, printed with the official City of Huntington Park letterhead logo, calls then City Council Candidate Mario Gomez a "Successful business owner that will bring a much needed strong business perspective when meeting with developers." 13. There is no Public Record or supporting evidence that Council Member Ofelia Hernandez is currently employed or of her previous place of employment. 14. City Clerk Elba Romo's Travel and Cell Phone expense summary presented here reveals clear discernible patterns of behavior with regards to her use of Public funds. City Clerk Elba Romo is a Stanford University graduate and is a teacher at a local high school. She is also a Real Estate agent. Clearly talented, her educational background and multi-professional credentials positions her as a natural leader in this community with much potential. Yet, in the last year, her actions, deeds and patterns of behavior with regard to her use of Public Funds and the exercise of her official duties seem to disregard serious fiscal considerations, fiduciary responsibility and accountability to the city's voters and residents. Barely a year into her appointed position, the expense summary data shows that City Clerk Elba Romo has already spent more than the combined travel expenses of two duly elected Council Members who have much greater roles of responsibility: Mayor John Noguez and Richard Loya. Her post as City Clerk is purely ceremonial as the city does have a full-time professional Deputy City Clerk and staff who actually handle day-to-day transactions. Expense data Comparison: City Clerk Romo alone has spent $2,950 of Public Funds compared to $2,309 total expenses for Council Member Loya and Mayor Noguez combined for 2003-2004. Recent public statements by City Clerk Elba Romo during Council Meetings expose in her a lack of basic understanding of her fiduciary duty, coupled with a record of questionable public fund expenditures, raise many questions. In April 2004 she made public allegations during a city council meeting accusing the Deputy City Clerk of unfaithfully presenting meeting minute items. An internal city investigation into the matter cost the city a few thousand dollars spent on a private contractor looking into the matter. The allegations turned out to be groundless. Meeting minutes were determined to be, in fact, faithful. The expense data above also reveals a pattern of behavior exhibited by City Clerk Elba Romo that coincidentally is consistent with a pattern of apparent misuse of Public Funds by the majority of Council Members who appointed her: Ed Escareño, Mario Gomez, Ofelia Hernandez, and John Noguez as evidenced by her penchant for taking every opportunity to use public funds for extensive travel to conferences in far away cities. By comparison, City Treasurer Revecca Avila, who was not appointed by this current council slate, in fact does not have the luxury of a travel budget of $3,000 as was granted to City Clerk Elba Romo. |
Summary of Travel and Cell Phone Expenditures by
Elected City Officials
City of Huntington Park, CA
Period covering last eight months up to January, 2004.
Elected City Officials
City of Huntington Park, CA
Period covering last eight months up to January, 2004.
WatchOurCity.com
In The Public Interest
In The Public Interest
Public Funds Spent on Travel by Huntington Park Elected Officials (2003-2004)
Public Funds Spent on Cell Phones by Huntington Park Elected Officials
Includes Billing Periods
Includes Billing Periods
|
Employment Status of Huntington Park Elected Officials as of April, 2004
| WatchOurCity.com presents newspaper articles on Misuse of Public Funds by local elected officials in surrounding cities. |
1. Ex-Mayor and
two other officials
convicted for
Misuse of Public
Funds in Compton
Wave Newspapers,
Feb. 11, 2004
two other officials
convicted for
Misuse of Public
Funds in Compton
Wave Newspapers,
Feb. 11, 2004
| Pop Quiz Answers Period covering last eight months up to January, 2004 1. Council Members Richard Loya and Juan Noguez have spent a total of $2,309 on Travel and Cell Phone use. Council Members Ed Escareño, Mario Gomez and Ofelia Hernandez have spent a total of $28,140 on Travel and Cell Phone expenses. Add the Public Funds expenses of City Clerk Elba Romo, $2,494 for Travel and $496 for Cell Phone use, the total is up to $31,130 $2,309 vs. $31,130 ......................... The expense data presented here reveals that Council Members Escareño, Gomez Hernandez, along with City Clerk Elba Romo who was appointed by them, display a consistent pattern of behavior with regards to use of Public Funds Expenditures: They have spent a combined total of $31,130. Thats 1,348% more than Council Member Loya and Mayor Noguez have spent combined. ........... Council Members Richard Loya and Juan Noguez have full-time jobs in addition to Part-Time City Council duties. ............ WatchOurCity.com could not find evidence supported by public records indicating that Council Members Ed Escareño, Mario Gomez and Ofelia Hernandez were fully employed as of February 2004, other than part-time City Council duties. See notes 11, 12, and 13, bottom of this sheet for clarifications. 2. According to the expense data here, Council Member Ed Escareño has exceeded his Travel Budget by 186.5% by spending $5,192 more than the $6,000 already allowed each Council Member That's a total of $11, 192 in Travel he's spent in 2003-2004 3. The expense data here reveals that Council Member Ed Escareño has reportedly spent over $1,100 during 2 recent months to call one single phone number in Rosarito, Mexico. ................ WatchOurCity.com reasonably assumes that Council Member Escareño has official city business there to account for. WatchOurCity.com would like to know as a matter of public record what that official city business is. The Public Trust bestowed on each elected and appointed official assumes that their official duties have the best interest of the City at heart and use mature judgement when spending Public Funds. The highly questionable and seeminglyabusive use of travel and cell phone expenses by Council Member Escareño clearly appears to represent a misuse of public funds. |
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| "If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem." - Abraham Lincoln |
1. D.A. Serves
Warrant on
Lynwood City
Officials
Wave Newspapers,
May. 12, 2004
Warrant on
Lynwood City
Officials
Wave Newspapers,
May. 12, 2004