The city manager is once again not being truthful. The below is so egregious that this information was passed on to me anonymously. This time, it is with city employees who did not get paid on time Friday, July 14. Because the city submitted the payroll late and it was over the city set limit of $1,500,000, the bank rightfully withheld payment until it could be authenticated. Isn’t that what you would want your bank to do? At 9:32 a.m., Bank of America Vice President Kamachi wrote, “There was no bank error causing the delay.” Yet at 10:42 a.m. Shohreh Dupuis wrote an email stating, “Issue was caused by our bank.”
Come on, city manager. Can’t you at least be forthright with your own employees when they think they aren’t getting paid? This behavior seems to be a pattern with Ms. Dupuis. Truth seems always to be a last resort for this city manager.
Michèle Monda, Laguna Beach
Ms Monda’s ability to jump to conclusions knows no bounds. The city manager does not submit payroll requests to the Bank of America. That’s the job of the city treasurer. When the city manager was told of this minor snafu, she alerted the staff and council. Everyone was paid the same day, just a few hours later than usual.
Ms Monda could have found this out had she bothered to ask, rather than further undermine her credibility by pursuing her tiresome, threadbare vendetta against the city manager.
Gee Chris I guess you didn’t read my letter properly. I never said the City Manager submitted the payroll request. She did however lie to employees by sending an email to them stating that the bank caused the problem. The City Treasurer who you so willingly throw under the bus was not told about this until the morning. It was STAFF that submitted the payroll late and after hours and staff who submitted it over the official amount. The Treasurer fixed the problem. Why do you defend the City Manager who controls the staff, NOT the Treasurer, when they obviously caused the problem and she covered it up by blaming the bank??? What’s the matter with you?? It’s not a vendetta against the City Manager – I’m only pointing out that she is making mistake after mistake and blaming everyone but herself, the CEO of City Management. How about the buck stops here???
Chris, you “forgot”,to mention the obvious fact that the City Manager stated in a letter that the bank was responsible for the snafu. The bank was not as they were legally prevented from disbursing more than the amount, I believe it was$1,500,000, which was set by the City. So why did Dupuis try to pin it on the bank? Had this been been a rare misstatement by the CM it would not have raised any concern but recently we have seen a pattern that is eroding trust in the CM and now for those on the council that support her missteps.
The latest being allowing the illegal trespassing of Hotel Laguna and 14 West, claiming that both the MOM guards and Mo’s thugs were armed. Not true. Only the thugs were armed. And using that as part of the pretext to remove the rightful owners employees and a guests in addition to Mo and his thugs at midnight. This was exactly what Mo wanted to happen and just like his several instances of unpermitted work during the Hotel Laguna renovation she was the not only the enabler but the enforcer. The CM is responsible for seeing that our laws and municipal codes are enforced.
What Mo did was trespassing which which because of the damage he and his thugs caused was a felony for which he and his thugs should have been arrested. Yet she, Whalen and Cohn still chose to call it a civil matter. Once trespassing occurred calling it a civil matter was a lie. She above all the others was responsible for the shameful episode. She gave the order to remove the rightful owners and their guests for their properties.
Michelle, The payroll snafu was a big nothing, but you couldn’t resist another chance to attack the city manager. Anyone who pays attention knows you’ve been gunning for her for years now. Your primary accusation — that she was in cahoots with Mo — seems ridiculous given Mo’s loss of control over his enterprise.
Chris, aside from being the guy who claims the city manager might have vandalized her own home in a play for sympathy, why have you gone all-in for MOM. Where’s your skepticism? This is a group we know almost nothing about with zero experience working in Laguna Beach. Could we at least wait and see what they intend to do?
Monda, Abraham, Catsimanes, and most egregiously Councilman George Weiss are the leaders of the minuscule but obstreperous cabal who have come up short time and again in their vitriolic campaign against our City Manager. They waste taxpayer dollars and government air with their frivolous nothing burgers. Funny how silent they were with the last two City Managers – oh yeah, they were men, and white ones at that.
Now we recently learned that Council had to conduct a closed door session with Weiss over his alleged harassment of city staffers. Who carries on like this? At least with Peter Blake it was against his antagonists. But Weiss acting juvenile and uncooperative with staffers he doesn’t like? Hey George, life is too short. You used to be much more chill. Maybe this job ain’t for you.
These allegations that our City Manager was in some kind of cahoots with Mo Honarker is fruitless and smells only of discrimination against a certain ethnic group – and gender. Shohreh’s loyalty has always been to one thing: Laguna Beach.
Chris Q – Again you didn’t read my lte did you? It’s not the payroll snafu that was the big deal. IT WAS THE LIE. I call out anyone who lies and this City Manager is adept at it so I have lots of opportunities to call her out. My primary accusation with her is the lying, the sneaky dealing (remember putting the library purchase on the consent calendar during Spring break when parents were absent) and the downright lousy job she is doing as a City Manager not her cozy relationship with Mo. I’ve left that to others bc she just provides me constant opportunity with her actions. Again, I encourage you to read properly.
Billy – you are just too silly to respond to. I guess you weren’t following city politics when Pietig was here bc I did more than my share of calling him out too. I wasn’t here for the other one. Are you really going to play the race/gender card against me?? Is that all you’ve got?? It’s so laughable and pathetic as you don’t know me do you? Interesting that you think wasting taxpayer dollars is what I do – I did not choose to hide a simple traffic stop behind $45k worth of lawyers fees and $5k to produce a doctored and misleading video. The city manager did to defend herself at our expense. Really want to go there? Who immediately says the name of the Police Chief when stopped for a traffic violation???? Really??? Before you spout your mouth off as is your custom you might want to get your facts straight instead of just your myopic uninformed opinion.
Michele M – The 5-0 council decision to purchase the library was made at its meeting on January 7, 2020. You were there.
B. Fried: I find your attempt to turn LB stakeholders concerns and opinions of a City Administrator’s actions and job performance into a discrimination/race issue shameful.
IMO, taking such a destructive approach with fellow community members suggests to me you have some personal stake in keeping a controversial employee no matter what the performance facts show. Disappointing to see self-interest pursuits over what’s best for our community.
Finally, as a former executive director of the Center for Social Justice and Civil Liberties in the very diverse IE County – discrimination/racism is the last thing I would ever participate in or be accused of. Please do your homework before making such accusatory and ignorant statements. Thanks.
Unfortunately, Billy, I couldn’t agree with you less.
The City Manager has been an all-round disaster.
If it’s not buying the Ti Amo non-fire station for $2.7M without an appraisal while knowing it’d never work because it couldn’t also accommodate emergency medical vehicles, then it’s illegally refusing to release the public records body cam video and lying about her traffic stop (needlessly costing us $49,000 in useless legal fees – and probably more because she still is not revealing all the costs). Plus there’s her popping off and publicly attacking residents in a City Council meeting resulting in a defamation lawsuit against the City.
Consider the media circus she caused with the purported and highly suspicious vandalism of her home. Instead of recusing herself of the investigation, she’s run it . . . and there’s not been a single peep about it since. (Fish emulsion or the wildly claimed, uninvestigated feces story that was spread in all the media to gin up sympathy mere hours after the incident . . . which is it? She’s not telling.)
Funny thing – she seems to like threatening anyone critical of her inept and/or malicious behavior with claims of creating a hostile work environment. Now it appears she’s going to try it again by pinning that bogus rap on the one City Council member who’s stood up to her autocratic behavior. Maybe the City Council cabal of Whalen, Kempf, Dupuis and Cohn aren’t honest enough to deal with anyone willing to expose their crooked ways. (Exhibit A: Their sneaky attempt to sell the library out from under us for use as a parking lot – something Mr. Weiss alone exposed.)
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black – I’ve spoken to former City staff members about the City Manager’s treatment of staff. Reports of demeaning, all-out screaming fits at staffers keep cropping up, with current staffers fearing for their jobs if they speak up.
How about the $260,000 promenade decks she insisted on gifting at the public’s expense to the private businesses on the promenade with a no-bid contract as an “emergency” effort? (In Santa Barbara, businesses pay for their own decks. Since your business is all-in on more tourism, I can easily see how that undoubtedly colors your thinking about the pro-business, pro-tourism City Manager and anyone who would oppose her.)
And then there was the Presbyterian parking structure boondoggle that was proposed – where was the City Manager’s independent outside appraisal instead of just accepting the land holder’s $7M valuation claim?
Comparing Councilman Weiss to Peter Blake?! That’s ludicrous! Blake gleefully intimidated, terrorized and harassed residents and fellow Council members for years with virtual impunity. Where was his hostile work environment complaint? Oh, that’s right . . . Blake and the City Manager are buddies. Funny how that works.
Really pathetic that you should play the race and chauvinism card, Billy. I assume you picked that one up from the City Manager’s playbook – something she plays every time there’s any criticism of her performance.
Lastly, your logic totally fails by implying she’s not a supporter of Mo. That she did not immediately have Mo and his armed thugs arrested for their take-overs of the Laguna Hotel and 14 West screams favoritism. (I can only imagine how you’d react if someone pulled a stunt like that on your businesses.). And this failure to protect the rights of the proprietors may well cost Laguna yet another lawsuit that could run into the millions.
You are entitled to your opinion, Billy. And my opinion says yours is wrong.
I followed this column as long as I could without comment, however Billy’s latest comments are so patently ridiculous that I have no choice but to chip in.
1. Stop playing the “Race/Gender Card” it has no place here.
2. Read Jerome P’s letter, no need to repeat it here.
3. Comparing George Weiss to Peter Blake is absurd, (and You know it) again, no further comment required.
4. In IMO S. Dupuis has been as already stated “an all around disaster”
I know it is never prudent to antagonize the “City Manager” when you have a business in the city that he or she manages. Additionally, it is not wise to agitate or offend the City Manager if you are a Developer.
At the end of the day it is not challenging to understand why we keep hearing from Billy F. (Renter of E-bikes & Kayak’s) or Michael R. (Developer) & Peter Blake admirer espousing the “merits” of the debacle that has been S. Dupuis. The more “tourists” that we can funnel into Laguna is just more potential business/sales that can be generated on their behalf, I accept and acknowledge these truths.
Having said that, the time is here, for our City Council to start “listening” to Us the Residents of Laguna Beach and put an end to the hold that the (Let’s use Billy’s big word) “obstreperous cabal” of Dupuis, Whalen, Kemph, and Kohn have maintained making wholesale terrible decisions for our community at the expense of Us the Residents.
“Michele M – The 5-0 council decision to purchase the library was made at its meeting on January 7, 2020. You were there.” – Chris Quilter
Funny thing, Chris, you totally ignored the fact that it was purchased only after Mayor Sue Kempf and City Manager Dupuis were caught red-handed trying to sneak that there were clauses buried deep in the purchase agreement that would have allowed the library to be converted into a parking lot in just three years.
The Mayor and the City Manager approve of the Staff Report for agenda items – and this critical clause was clearly and all-to-conveniently left out. Only by opening the agreement attachment online and reading the multipage fine print purchase agreement would this kicker have been caught. Fortunately, Councilman Weiss did.
Pouring a sack of salt on the wound – they put this $4M underhanded purchase on the Consent Calendar, where it would have automatically passed if no one objected.
Fortunately this crooked attempt to sell the library out from under residents was caught and a public uproar ensued, resulting in a purchase agreement whereby the library would remain where it is for another 25 years.
You read about it. You know about it. Now stop pretending like you don’t – it’s dishonest.
Funny thing, Jerome, you’re blowing smoke.
You are correct Jerome’ “The Mayor and the City Manager approve of the Staff Report for agenda items – and this critical clause was clearly and all-to-conveniently left out. Only by opening the agreement attachment online and reading the multipage fine print purchase agreement would this kicker have been caught. Fortunately, Councilman Weiss did.”
No question. If CC Weiss, you and other community stakeholders who found the buried sell-out clause that made the proposed agreement volatile had not alerted the residents, it would have been pushed through by the CC majority Bob Whalen, Sue Kempf and Peter Blake.
Transparency and trust issues continue to surround some of our public officials.
Thanks to all involved for doing their due-diligence and refusal to accept any possible self-interests collusion or corruption in our city government. Vote responsibly in 2024!