Story Created:
Nov 11, 2009 at 6:18 PM PST
Story Updated:
Nov 11, 2009 at 6:30 PM PST
COMPTON — The city will not pay its bills until the end of the month, city officials said on Nov. 3.
Mayor Eric J. Perrodin pulled two warrants up for approval that night — one a payment to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for $1.4 million, the other to CHANGE, an organization of former gang members who have been contracted to remove graffiti from the city for $17,600 — because the city’s cash flow is slow.
“Basically, the reason why I wanted to have these two items pulled is that I am trying to determine what our policy is pertaining to our warrants,” said Perrodin. “It is my request that once somebody completes their service in the city of Compton they should be paid for that service almost immediately once we verify that they did complete the services. I think if we are trying to change the reputation of the city, we have to pay our bills on time.”
According to City Manager Charles Evans, the city’s policy is to first have the council approve the warrant, then submit it to the city treasurer’s office for payment.
“At this time of the year we have had some issues related to delayed money coming in from the state and the county,” said Evans. “In terms of property taxes, it’s a slow time of the year, as well as reimbursements that come from our federal funding allocated to the state of California. This is the time of the year where … monies are slow coming in, but we are receiving money and we should be able to start making these payments in a timely manner.”
In addition, Perrodin said that some city department heads have untouched paperwork on their desks that, if completed, would result in millions of dollars coming into the city. But, he said pointedly, these employees “are too lazy or incompetent to do the paperwork and send it in so we can get our money back.”
The city’s more fruitful months are in the spring and the month of December, added Perrodin, who requested that staff set aside money during those periods so that it can be used during the “dry time.”
City Treasurer Douglas Sanders sent a memo to staff in late October, announcing “that he was not going to pay any of the warrants until the end of the month,” according to Perrodin. “So we got vendors out there that have done work in October, that won’t get paid until the first of December.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, whose contract with the city ended in July but was extended until the two parties could reach an agreement — which also came at Nov. 3 meeting — has not been paid in several months, said Lt. Anthony Lucia of the Compton Sheriff’s Station.
According to the city clerk, the Sheriff’s Department has not been paid since at least August, which was the date of last invoice. The amount owed was not specified.
“What would happen if the Sheriff’s Department said, ‘We didn’t get paid for August so we are out of here,” said Perrodin. “CHANGE is a group of individuals that used to be gang bangers … When individuals like this don’t get paid they can change again. That’s not good and you have to understand that. We have them in a good place, but if they are not getting their money what do you think they are going to do to survive? Everybody resorts back to their natural ways, especially when in crisis mode … We have to stop this stuff, that’s why I wanted to [address] those particular items.”
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