Oroville city officials are under scrutiny, again. A new Butte County Grand Jury (BCGJ) report has found city operators of mismanaging and violating its own policies after complaints from those who live there.

Who exactly made the complaints are not detailed in the investigation that’s listed as part of the 107-page annual 2021-2022 report. A portion of those pages take aim at a small, but important group of Oroville officials: the city council, Mayor Chuck Reynolds and City Administrator Bill LaGrone.

The complaints from “citizens in the City of Oroville,” are:

• Allegations of improper awards of public contracts
• Conflict of interest
• Mismanagement of hiring key staff
• Violations of City Policies and Procedures
• Violations of City Charter and Municipal Code
• Improperly selling city real property
• Brown Act violations
• Individuals holding multiple offices
• Bullying of subordinates

Reynolds believes many of the complaints are vague and give no evidence to back them up. He also indicates that the timing of its release seems coincidental to the upcoming November election that he’s up for reelection in.

“There’s no specifics. They say bullying. When? Where? Who?” says Reynolds over the phone. “The only real thing that there is, is the policies and procedures manual which we’ve been working on actively.”

That Policy and Procedures Manual (PPM) is detailed in the report as what would help measure the effectiveness of council conduct following its own rules. But, the report lists that the city “does not have an updated, comprehensive PPM, and many of the individual parts of the manuals they do have, are now out of date.”

The report continues to say that the City Council agreed to create a digital comprehensive PPM by the end of 2022 through a questionnaire the Grand Jury sent to the members. However, receiving these and other responses was reportedly a battle.

The report further states that the Grand Jury, during its investigation, pursued multiple attempts to receive the full amount of information it requested before LaGrone and the City Council because they would continuously provide “incomplete answers, did not respond by the due dates, or at all.” Any information that did reach the Grand Jury allegedly was vetted first through LaGrone.

“It is not clear who is in charge,” lists the report.

LaGrone did not return multiple requests for comment Thursday.

The report concludes with the following findings:

• One individual holds more than one key city office
• There is not a current and complete PPM accessible to the general public
• Emergency declarations have been used to override existing policies
• The procedures on record were frequently not followed
• The City Council does not fill vacant positions in a timely manner, enabling the mayor to fill those positions by appointment instead of election

The City Council, mayor and administrator have all been asked to respond within 90 days. The City Council plans to hold public hearings in the coming weeks to respond to the findings and the Grand Jury’s recommendations, which are:

• Each position in city administration and city government is to be filled by one individual and no individual to hold multiple positions, except on a temporary basis to fill a vacancy and for no longer than six months. This is to be put into policy by Dec. 31, 2022.
• Oroville City Government to develop and adopt a comprehensive PPM online and in print by Dec. 31, 2022.
• The Oroville City Government to define an “emergency situation” in the PPM by Dec. 31, 2022.
• City Council members to fill positions in accordance with the PPM and within 6 months, except in emergency situations. This is to be implemented by Dec. 31, 2022.

The full report can be found on the Butte County court’s website.

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