We hope you spent Thanksgiving weekend surrounded by family and friends. At this time of year, we often think about how grateful we are for you and other supporters who have been with us over the years.
This year, however, we would like to also extend thanks to the Ventura County Superior Court.
A couple of days before Thanksgiving, Moving Oxnard Forward won its lawsuit against the City of Oxnard, challenging the City’s unlawful employment of the same auditor year-after-year.
Here’s some background.
In the aftermath of the City of Bell scandal over a decade ago, the California legislature determined that some Certified Public Accountants were becoming too cozy with their municipal clients ... making it less likely that their annual financial statement audits would uncover malfeasance.
In response, California adopted a statute prohibiting cities (and other local agencies) from employing an auditor who has performed audit services for that city for six consecutive years.
The City of Oxnard has brazenly employed the same auditor for ten consecutive years.
And the City was not ignorant of the law.
As early as 2018, elected Oxnard City Treasurer Phillip Molina – to whom we are thankful for making us aware of this situation – repeatedly alerted the City of this statute and insisted that the City follow the law.
However, instead of heeding Treasurer Molina’s advice, the City deemed Mr. Molina an annoyance; doubled down and extended its contract with the auditor for five years; accused him of engaging in “keyboard warfare;” and unlawfully stripped the City Treasurer of his duties.
(After a separate long legal battle, the appellate court ordered that Mr. Molina’s duties be restored. The City has not yet complied.)
We at Moving Oxnard Forward also demanded that City Hall comply with state law by employing a different auditor. We were rebuffed.
So, with litigation the only remaining option, we filed a lawsuit against the City of Oxnard.
Shamelessly, the City actually argued to the court that the judge should overlook the plain and commonsense meaning of the statute.
Fortunately, the court found the City’s position unavailing, stating that “[t]he City’s contention defies the plain meaning of the statute’s words” and ruled that the City’s payments to this auditor were an illegal expenditure of funds.
The City could appeal this decision to a higher court, spending more taxpayer dollars on additional legal fees, but with four new faces (including MOF President, Aaron Starr) joining the Oxnard City Council in December perhaps commonsense and a willingness to follow the law will at long last become the norm.