Beaumont Payroll Tops $1 Million/month

Beaumont’s Payroll recently topped over $1 Million/month from $700,000/month when City Manager Todd Parton took over in November, 2016. A Public Records’ Request of Beaumont’s Payroll has revealed some startling discoveries.

 

Staffing:

Traditionally, budgets contain a list of employees and their job titles for each department. Beaumont Staff and City Council removed the employee list from the Budget two years ago.

The Payroll Ledger is broken down by Departments. The ‘Administrative Services Department’ is the ‘City Manager’s Department’. It now lists 10 Employees including City Treasurer Baron Ginnetti, which should be part of the Finance Department.

Urban Logic Employee Kyle Warsinski is also listed in the Administration Department. Before the 2015 Raids Warsinski spoke for
Urban Logic Principals Dave Dillon and Deepak Moorjani after they went into hiding in 2010. Since the Raids the City has gone to great lengths to hide Warsinski. Warsinski’s job title has changed multiple times over the years. Warsinski is listed on the City’s website as the ‘Economic Development Manager’.

Beaumont’s Finance Department should contain a Finance Director, at least three more Accountants, and 6 to 8 Accounting Techs. Payroll records list a total of five (5) Employees in the Finance Department. One Accountant employed is a CPA, but she makes 1/2 the Salary as Parton’s Assistant City Manager who has a Bachelor’s Degree in ‘Parks & Recreation’.

Beaumont’s Risk Department was originally where former Risk Manager, GGMS Principal, and ERMAC Principal James Gregg’s $1/4 Million/year salary was hidden.

The State Controller’s Office 2015 Investigative Report, Finding 8 spoke of the City’s lack of a functioning Human Resource Department and job descriptions.

The City has since combined Human Resources & Risk Management. The Department has two Employees listed: Kari Mendoza, formerly from the Police Department, who was gifted the title of HR Director after the Raids. Mendoza signs the City’s Bond Statements as the ‘Finance Director’. The other employee listed, Shaylene Norville, does Payroll and should be listed in the Finance Department.

Before the Raids Beaumont’s Planning Department contained only Urban Logic Employee Rebecca Deming, who was gifted the title of ‘Planning Director’ when Ernie Egger went into hiding in 2010. After the Raids Urban Logic Employee Kyle Warsinski was moved to the Planning Department. Deming has since slithered out the door and Warsinski is now hiding in the City Manager’s Department. The Planning Department is now called ‘Community Development’ and consist of the five Planning Commissioners and two Staff Members – both of which are in the $100,000 club.

The Police Department has ‘grown’ from 44 Cops in 2018 to 42 Cops. The City promised the Police Association that they would hire more police, but with poor working conditions and dishonest Staff and Council; the police quit at a much faster rate than they are hired.

Beaumont has created another Department separate from Public Works called ‘Dept. 4050 Sewer Services’. Dept 4050 is NOT listed on the Budget. An accounting code found on the General Ledger, but not listed on the budget is usually considered a ‘ghost account’ – purposely hidden from the Public. In the case of Beaumont; the City’s is forging their books, so the ledger accounts were never properly established.

Dept. 4050 contains 11 Employees paid a total of $80,000/month. In the past the City paid Urban Logic Services/Utility Partners
$50,000/month for two (2) employees to operate the City’s Sewer Plant. Department 6000, Building Maintenance, is recorded on the Budget, but has no employees. The City Council has allowed every Department Head to ‘contract’ individual cleaning companies instead of hiring employees. Hiring Employees to clean the offices would cost less, but not provide an avenue for Department Heads to profit from selling government contracts.

 

“Cash Health Care”:

California State Laws limit how much a government employee can be paid for their positions, but Beaumont chooses to circumvent State Laws. The ‘old Beaumont’ passed out additional money under the guise of ‘Gym Membership’.

Beaumont government employees are provided healthcare benefits. However, Payroll records show the City is paying additional money to certain employees under the guise of ‘Cash Health Care’ or ‘Health Benefit’. The additional monies range from $200 to $800 per pay period. For some reason Code Enforcement Employees are receiving additional money for ‘Health Benefit’, ‘Dental Benefit’, and ‘Vision Benefit’.

The additional money paid adds up to over $2 Million/year. Some may consider this additional pay on already inflated paychecks to be a bit greedy of the Taxpayers’ money.

 

$100,000 Club, $200,000 Club, $300,000 Club:

To make $100,000/year a person would make $3,846 every two weeks. To make To make $200,000/year a person would make $7,692 every two weeks. To make $300,000/year a person would make $11,538 every two weeks.

City Manager Todd Parton was brought in from Kerrville, Texas. Parton has no knowledge of California State laws nor experience in managing a city over 20,000. Parton was hired for his expertise in forging government documents to illegally acquire bond debt. Parton receives a Salary of $250,000/year. Parton also receives a ‘Health Benefit’ of $19,500/year, a Car Allowance of $7,600/year, and a 401K plan of $17,000/year; bringing Parton’s total salary to almost $350,000/year.

Kristine Ondrais-Day, was also brought in from Kerrville, Texas, and gifted the job title of ‘Assistant City Manager’, to quote Beaumont Mayor Julio Martinez “to make Parton happy”. Ondrais-Day’s ‘expertise’ is assisting Parton in forging government documents to illegally acquire bond debt. Ondrais-Day has a Bachelors’ Degree in Parks and Recreation, which is worth about $60,000/year. Ondrais-Day is paid $1/4 Million/year salary plus $4,500/year car expense, $1,300/year Cell Phone expense, and $20,000/year for ‘Health Benefit’. Ondrais-Day also signs government documents as the ‘Public Works
Director.’

Kari Mendoza, with salary and perks, makes over $190,000/year.

Many in Law Enforcement make over $100,000, but $200,000/year is a bit too much for a City of 50,000 people.

With pay and benefits; Officer Stephen Bronstrup makes $185,000/year, Greg Fagan makes $196,000/year, Jeremy Harris makes $218,000/year, Nathan Lunt makes $230,000/year, Miguel Macias makes $200,000/year, Anthony Onodera makes $224,000/year, Fredrick Steward makes $188,000/year, George Walter makes $185,000/year, and Chief of Police Sean Thuilliez with salary and benefits makes $250,000/year.

Elizabeth Gibbs-Urtiaga-Gibbs has held a multitude of job titles in the last four years and was gifted a $230,000/year salary by the City Council. However, payroll records show Gibbs-Urtiaga pay to be $178,000/year. The City website shows an old 2016 Contract when Gibbs-Urtiaga was gifted the title of ‘Transit Director’, but not the last two Contracts gifted. Gibbs-Urtiaga’s current job title is Community Services Director’.

A total of $38,000 in Overtime was paid during this two-week period, primarily in the Police and Transit Departments.

Download the City of Beaumont Payroll Journal Here (PDF)