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CITY OF SAN BERtORDINO - REQUEST UR COUNCIL ACTION
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From: Councilwoman Esther Estrada
First Ward
Dept: Council Office
Subject: Mayor's Directives to City Attorney
Mayor's Actions Relative to City
Attorney's Office & possible Action
Thereon.
Date: July l6, 1992
Synopsis of Previous Council action:
Recommended motion:
Discussion on and possible action relative to Mayor's recent
actions towards and directives to City Attorney as attached.
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<-. '\ I Signature
Contact person: Councilwoman Esther R. Estrada
Phone:
5268
Supporting data attached:
yes
Ward:
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
Amount:
Source: (Acct. No.)
(Acct. Description)
Finance:
Council Notes:
75-0262
Agenda Item No
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city of San Bernardino
INTEROFFICE MEMORAIfDUM
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
TO: James F. Penman, City Attorney
City Attorney's Office
FROM: W. R. "Bob" Holcomb, Mayor
DATE: July 2, 1992
SUBJECT: Request for Information - city Attorney Caseload
COPIES:
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Please provide me with an alpha listinq of all cases presently
beinq handled by your office. The listinq sbould include:
A. Case Name;
B. Description as to the type of case;
C. The attorney(s) assigned to the case;
D. Opposinq counsel;
E. Estimated trial date;
F. Estimated trial costs;
G. The amount or issues included in the prayer, and
H. Assuming the City is liable, what the estimated dollar
exposure would be.
I would appreciate receivinq this information by Tbursday, July l6,
1992, at 4:00 p.m.
Thank you.
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W. R. "Bob"
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city of San Bernardino
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
TO: James F. Penman, City Attorney
City Attorney's Office
FROM: W. R. "Bob" Holcomb, Mayor
DATE: July 8, 1992
SUBJECT: Request for Documentation and Information RE: Statements
publicly made by you at the 7/6/92 Council Meetinq durinq
your Grand JUry Investigation Report.
COPIES:
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Please provide me with the following:
l. Any documentation that you have that will support your
statement that "In 1989, or at any other time, the Council
requested an internal audit regarding chanqe orders":
2. What was the approximate date that the city Administrator
informed your office that the audit on change orders not qo
forward:
3. Furnish any documentation or information you have that "the
City Administrator informed your office that the audit not go
forward":
4.
Furnish me with copies of
correspondence, notes and other
possession regarding the grading
the followinq:
A. The date you were informed that the illegal gradinq was
going on. Who (provide name) from the Fish and Game
contacted you.
all documents, memos,
written materials in your
in the foothills includinq
B. Who (provide name) in the District Attorney's Office
advised you that qradinq was going on without permits,
and the date of said notice.
C. Your explanation as to why you did not immediately take
legal action to stop the illegal grading.
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Ja:aes F. Penman, city Attorney
July 8, 1992
Page 2.
5. Please furnish me with copies of all pictures/videos showing
the illegal grading:
6. You have publicly stated that the Executive Branch is run in
secrecy. Please furnish me with all instances of action which
were improperly kept secrete by my office:
7. Identify all Council actions that were re-negotiated by the
Executive Branch after council action:
8. List and identify specific instances where Council was unable
to get information on the change order process:
9. You have stated publicly that the Mayor'S office has
deteriorated to the point that no one knows what is going on
in the Mayor's office. upon what facts or specific instances
do you base this statement on?
lO. Your public statement that the Mayor waited until you were out
of town to lobby the Council to dismiss the lawsuit against a
developer building without permits, requires further
clarification. Please provide me with the information you
have, including names of those councilmembers who were
lobbied.
Due to the urgency of this matter, I request that you provide this
information by 5:00 p.m. this date.
If, for any reason you are unable to comply with my request in its
entirety by the designated time, you shall provide me with as much
of this information as you can and give the remainder of the
request top priority on 7/9/92
If any of the requests herein are unclear, please contact me
immediately and I wi provide clarification.
Thank you.
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w. R. "BOb"(H:~~Omb' Mayor
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o F SAN B ERN A R DIN 0
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
C I T Y
TO: W.R. Holcomb, Mayor
FRO~: James F. Penman, City Attorney
DA:-E: July 8, 1992
RE: Your Request for Documentation and Information
of July 8, 1992
COPY TO: Council ~embers
Thank you for your memorandum of this date which was received
in the City Attorney's Office at 1:07 p.m. today.
To answer your question in Item 1, careful research of Council
Minutes from 1989 would have to be conducted. I do not have the
time to do this research prior to your press conference tomorrow
which is the only urgency I am able to discern.
As to Items 2 and 3, the conversation was oral, and it
occurred, to the best of my recollection, after you had taken
office. I do not have a more specific dat
Your requests in Items 4 and 5 are
ongoing investigation under the auspices 0:
State Department of Fish and Game and
information/evidence is confidential and
without a court order.
:or information in an
the District Attorney,
this office. Such
',.,ill not be released
As to Item 6, it will take a great deal of research and staff
time, including costs, to compile this information. I am willing
to do so; however, given the pressing busi~ess and the numerous
lawsuits in this office, not to mention 'criminal prosecutions,
additional funds will have to be a110cated ,y the City Council if
staff time is to be utilized to answer this question.
As to Items 7 and 8, if it is your wish that I open an
investigation to identify all the Counc~l actions that were
renegotiated and to interview Council Membe=s in order to compile
a specific list of instances where Council ':embers were unable to
get specific information on change orders, I will do so.
As to Item 9, I answered that question and made comments
tr.ereon at Monday's Council Meeting.
JFP/bg IHolcomb.Memj
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Memo to W.R. Holcomb, Mayor
July 8, 1992
Page 2
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As to Item 10, this office has received new information
regarding this matter, additional witnesses are being scheduled for
interviews, and the entire matter is currently under investigation.
We presently have a major case in trial in Department 1 of the
Superior Court. I am busy monitoring that case and dealing with
expert witness issues, police officer witness issues and other
matters related to that trial. In addition, there are numerous
other pressing matters in this office that require my attention.
Your request that I provide the information by 5:00 p.m. this date
or give it top priority tomorrow is unreasonable. If you wish me
to consider repriori tization, please provide me with detailed
information as to why these matters are an urgency as you indicate
in the paragraph following Item 10 in your memorandum.
Respectfully submitted,
JFP/bg [Ho1comb.Mem]
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CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
JAMES F. PENMAN
City Attorney
July 15, 1992
w. R. Holcomb, Mayor
City of San Bernardino
Ci ty Hall
300 North "D" Street
San Bernardino, CA 92418
Dear Mayor Holcomb:
It has come to the attention of this office that the Executive
Branch of this City may be conducting an unlawful and unauthorized
inquiry/investigation into the activities of the office of the City
Attorney for a private purpose. Judging from the questions being
asked former and current members of the City Attorney staff, it
appears that this investigation is a "fishing expedition" on your
part to 10cate any disgruntled former or current employees and
obtain information from said persons to use for your private
political purposes.
There are no trained investigators on your staff or the City
Administrator's staff. Neither your office nor that of the City
Administrator has any legal authority as a law enforcement or
prosecutorial agency to conduct such investigations.
Demand is hereby made pursuant to Section 6250 et seq. of the
Government Code that you make available for the review of
representatives of this office forthwith all of the following:
l) AIl handwritten. typed or computer produced materials
including inter-office memoranda, all correspondence, all notes,
witness statements, all phone messages and all phone 10gs, all tape
recordings (video or audio) and similar items reflecting or
concerning the aforementioned investigation and/or charges against
the undersigned or against any other person in the office of the
City Attorney of harassment of any kind or nature or discrimination
of any kind or nature, whether such material is in the Mayor's
office, the City Administrator's office or wherever such material
exists in the San Bernardino City municipal government.
2) AIl computer printouts of Department telephone logs/City
CITY HALL
300 NORTH '0' STREET. SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA 92418
(714) 384-5355
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w. R. HOLCOMB, MAYOR
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
Page 2
July 15, 1992
of San Bernardino Interdepartmental telephone billings, both the
Summary Reports and the Detail Reports for all ports/telephones in
the Mayor' s office and the City Administrator' s office and any
other phone used in the aforementioned investigation for the periOd
beginning December 1, 1991 to the date you comply with this Public
Records Act request.
As the Chief Legal Officer of the City, I make this request to
determine whether or not the aforementioned inquiry/investigation,
under color of authority or otherwise, constitutes or gives rise to
a potential action against the City of San Bernardino for possible
violations of any person or person' s civil rights or any other
rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and/or the
Constitution of the State of California.
As the City Attorney, I am also concerned that said aforementioned
inquiry/investigation may interfere with and/or hinder the ability
of the undersigned and/or his staff to perform the elective duties
of the office of City Attorney as prescribed in the City Charter
and by state law including, but not limited to, prosecutorial
functions.
It is my intention to review the requested material in order to
advise the Common Council of any possible exposure of the City to
litigation or interference with the Charter and other statutory
responsibilities of this office, including but not limited to the
prosecutorial functions thereof.
Respectful1y Submitted,
7~
James F. Penman
City Attorney
cc: Common Council, City Treasurer, City Clerk, City Administrator