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Home My WebLink About45-City Council . . o City of San BernardinP INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM 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: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please provide me with an alpha listing of all cases presently being handled by your office. The listing should include: A. Case Name; B. Description as to the type of case; C. The attorney(s} assigned to the case; D. Opposing counsel; E. Estimated trial date; F. Estimated trial costs; G. The amount or issues included in che prayer, and H. Assuming the City is liable, what the estimated dollar exposure would be. I would appreciate receiving this information by Thursday, July 16, 1992, at 4:00 p.m. Thank you. / ( W. R. "Bob" HolCOmb, Mayor WRH:sa fh /1'v 1-15 o o 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 Meeting during your Grand Jury Investigation Report. COPIES: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please provide me with the following: 1. 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 change orders"; 2. What was the approximate date that the city Administrator informed your office that the audit on change orders not go 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 following: all documents, memos, written materials in your in the foothills including A. The date you were informed that going on. Who (provide name) contacted you. the illegal grading was from the Fish and Game B. Who (provide name) in the District Attorney's Office advised you that grading 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. _0'- o James F. Penman, City Attbrney July 8, 1992 Page 2. o 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? 10. 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 w~) provide clarification. Thank you. / // w. /(!:!l~:::: WRH:sa o 0 C I T Y 0 F SAN B ERN A R DIN 0 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: W.R. Holcomb, Mayor FROM: James F. Penman, City Attorney DATE: July 16, 1992 We have completed the compilation of the information on the pending litigation requested in your letter of July 2, 1992. However, given your recent detrimental actions, which have seriously threatened the City's ability to prevail in several lawsuits, I am unable to assume the responsibility of transmitting this document to you wi thollt approval of the Common Councilor without a Court Order. I will bring the matter up in Closed Session on Monday, July 20, 1992, and, if the Council concurs that the information should be provided to you, it will immediately be delivered. The above position will not prevent this office from cooperating fully with the Peat/Marwick Audit. We will meet all of the deadlines listed in your July 14, 1992, letter to me re: Audits of 1992 Financial statements. Respectfully submitted, ,~ -, -;. {2?--k/~... J. ES F. PENMAN ity Attorney JFP/bg [Litigation.Mem] C 0 C I T Y 0 F SAN B ERN A R DIN 0 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: W.R. Holcomb, Mayor FROM: James F. Penman, City Attorney DATE: July 22, 1992 RE: Your July 2, 1992, Request for Information COPY TO: Council Members Attached is a memorandum that I prepared on July 16, 1992, and which inadvertently was not delivered to you on that date. Because the Council was unable to reconvene in Closed Session on July 20, 1992, and because the Council was unable to consider Agenda Item 5-2 at that time, it was not possible for me to obtain the approval to deliver the information to you. As I indicated in my July 16 memorandum, your recent actions have threatened the City's position in several lawsuits. More specifically, grave concerns have been raised about your ability to keep information regarding litigation confidential. While I am not going to act as a judge of your state of mind, I cannot assume the responsibili ty to provide you with information which could be devastating to the City should it fall into the hands of those suing us. I have asked that a special meeting of the Common Council be called to authorize me to deliver the information you have requested if the Council determines it appropriate to do so. I also must make a correction as to the second sentence in the second paragraph of your memorandum of July 21. I informed you that we have a list of the cases already prepared. That list includes the attorney assigned to the case. That list does not include the date of trial, projected cost of trial or estimated damages if liability were to be found. It took many hours to compile that information. Respectfully submitted, f.t/"VL ES F. PENMAN ity Attorney Attachment JFP/bg [Mayor.Mem] . o ,... ,.; C I T Y o F 5 A N B ERN A R DIN 0 Interoffice Memorandum TO: W. R. Holcomb, Mayor FROM: James F. Penman, City Attorney SUBJECT: TRANSMITTAL OF PARTIAL RESPONSE TO YOUR REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OF JULY 2, 1992 DATE: July 22, 1992 CC: Council Members As a follow-up to my earlier memorandum of this date, please find attached a partial response to your request of July 2, 1992. Responses to your request letters A, B, C, provided. Responses to your request letters provided for the reasons listed in my memorandum and my earlier memorandum to you of this date. D, E, and G are F and H are not to you of July 16 Also enclosed is the original cover letter I prepared for you on July 16. Respectfully submitted, .1 I' J) /f"~; 1- " ---~ ~~~es F. Penman City Attorney CIT~ OF SAN BERaRDINO - REQUEST ~R COUNCIL ACTION From:' Councilwoman Esther Estrada First Ward Dept: Council Office Date: July 16, 1992 Su~ect: Mayor's Directives to City Attorney Mayor's Actions Relative to City Attorney's Office & Possible Action Thereon. 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. ~~.~~ ~~s~ ~l.....\ ~ <...... '\ r Signature Contact person: Councilwoman Esther R. Estrada Phone: 5268 Supporting data attached: ves Ward: FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: Source: (Acct. No.) (Acct. Descriotionl Finence: Council Notes: 75-0262 Agenda Item No 9S " o ~ v City of San Bernardino IH'1'EROFFrCE IIBIIORAlmOJl 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: ---------------------------------------------------------- Please provide me with an alpha listing of all cases presently being handled by your office. The listing should include: A. case Name; B. Description as to the type of case; c. The attorneyes) assigned to the case; D. Opposing 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 receiving this information by Thursday, July 16, 1992, at 4:00 p... Thank you. ~, / /.// ' /' / ;,/ " r I W. R. "Bob" /'. 2::-/ Hol omb, Kayor WRH:sa -"., . o /'""0, "'.) , City of San Bernardino INTEROFFICE MEMORANDtlX 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 during your Grand Jury Investigation Report. COPIES: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please provide me with the following: 1. 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 change orders"; 2. What was the approximate date that the City Administrator informed your office that the audit on chanqe 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 reqarding the grading the following: A. The date you were informed that the illegal grading 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 gradinq was qoinq 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 illeqal grading. - ,. o :) James F. Penman, City Attorney July 8, ~992 Page 2. 5. Please furnish me with copies of all pictures/videos showing the i~legal 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? 10. 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, immediately and I wi provide clarification. please contact me Thank you. q~f7~ w. R. "Bob"(H:~~~mb, Mayor .' WRH:sa o .~ C I T Y 0 F SAN B ERN A R DIN 0 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: W.R. HOlcomb, Mayor FROM: James F. Penman, City Attorney DATE: July 8, 1992 RE: Your Request for Documentation and Information of July 8, 1992 COPY TO: Council Members 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 occurred, to the office. I do not 2 and 3, the conversation was oral, and it best of my recollection, after you had taken 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. cor information in an the District Attorney, this office. Such will 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 '~rimina1 prosecutions, additional funds will have to be allocated ,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 Members 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 thereon at Monday's Council Meeting. JFP/bg IHolcomb.Mem] - - 0 /) "- Memo to W.R. HOlcomb, Mayor July 8, 1992 Page 2 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 reprioritization, 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, J mes F. Penman ity Att-:>rney JFP/bg [Holcomb.Mem] o ,"\J:Ll.I:.,;, .-. =~... '"'t.; ", ~~"'~'- ;'t:-~~-'~ ._,~...-P~,,~ ...,,,(",i8;.~.1~ ,., ~. "-~.'!f"' - .. _~. ',0_, ~. '- ',-. ~~.t.~,~~ "h..~ ~\" :"'J:fiI\~ .-.. ~) CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY JAMES F. PENMAN City Attomey July 15, 1992 W. R. Holcomb, Mayor City of San Bernardino City 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 locate 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 prosecutoria1 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: 1) All handwritten, typed or computer produced materials including inter-Office memoranda, all ~orrespondence, all notes, witness statements, all phone messages and all phone logs, 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 Ci~municipal government. 2} All computer printouts of Department telephone logs/City CITY HALL 300 NORTH 'D' STREET. SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA 92418 (714) 384-5355 .... . '\ '"-' o 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 prosecutoria1 functions thereof. Respectfully Submitted, 1~ James F. Penman City Attorney cc: Common Council, City Treasurer, City Clerk, City Administrator