What began as a discussion to consider a resolution to adopt an ordinance to increase the number of affordable housing units allowed by the city’s inclusionary housing program from 15% to 20%, quickly went off the rails when Hollister Councilmember Rolan Resendiz accused “the majority of the council” of taking money from developers.

Mayor Mia Casey told BenitoLink, “It is not my wish to waste precious council time on code of conduct hearings but what choice is left when an attempt to informally warn Councilmember Resendiz about the need to follow the rules of order, be respectful and adhere to our code of conduct has fallen on deaf ears?

“Councilmember Resendiz indicated Monday evening he intends to continue his disruptive and disrespectful behavior,” she continued. “I will do whatever is necessary to address the matter in accordance with our code of conduct and restore order to our meetings.”

In response to Casey, Resendiz told BenitoLink “Mia Casey warned me behind closed doors to not bring up any connection to her and the developers that she supported in public again, and if I did, she would have me censured and take me off my committees. This is an attempt from the mayor to silence my voice and not point out that her and Dolores Morales are funded by Anderson Homes.”

Casey told BenitoLink May 5 that if Resendiz “intends to continue his behavior, I warned that I would be forced to take formal disciplinary action for violations of our code of conduct. Our City Attorney was present and witnessed the conversation. Casey did not say what action she intended to take against Resendiz.”

According to the Hollister Elections financial statements website, five members of the Anderson family of Anderson Homes each donated $99 for a total of $495 to Casey’s campaign but she returned the money on Dec. 28. Bill and Michelle Lee, who are proposing a 141-unit subdivision on Fairview Road, also donated $250 each and Casey also returned the money. Casey also returned Andrew Lee’s $250 contribution. 

This is the second consecutive meeting where Resendiz inferred other councilmembers violated the city’s code of conduct. Resendiz has been accused in the past of similar behavior and was ultimately censured. He did say, though, that he was not investigated.

At the April 17 meeting the council voted to give Councilmember Rick Perez a verbal warning for violating the code of conduct. Resendiz, who wanted Perez censured and removed from committees, was the lone no vote to verbally reprimand him. 

During the May 1 meeting, as the council discussed and moved toward tabling the affordable housing resolution in order to hold a public meeting on the issue, Resendiz verbally attacked Casey by direct reference, as well as Perez by innuendo. 

At first, Resendiz spoke calmly about the resolution, saying, “We are way overdue with adopting an inclusionary ordinance for the City of Hollister. Developers have been coming here for years and making a ton of money. This is something that should have been done years ago.”

During the “years” he was speaking of, though, Casey, Morales and Perez were not on the council.

Resendiz continued, “But the fact of the matter is, there are politics at play here. And in a few minutes, she’s gonna bang her gavel because she’s not gonna like what I have to say, but a vast majority of elected officials here are funded by developers. Their campaigns are funded by developers. They have conversations with developers. Therefore—”

Casey did pound her gavel and repeatedly said, “Point of order.”

She appeared stunned at the outburst as he began a tirade of accusations without actually mentioning the names of those seated next to him and who he was looking at.  

Casey asked him to stop but he would not. She called for a five-minute recess and he continued to speak to no one in particular as she left the chambers.

During the recess, Morales called him a liar and he accused her of taking money from local businessman and former mayor Victor Gomez, which she denied. He asked if she took money from developer Bill Lee. She told him he was being ridiculous and said, “Let’s go back to government business.”

Victor and Anietra Gomez gave Morales $250 each in 2021. Bill and Michelle Lee donated $250 each that year. Michelle donated another $250 in 2022. Hollister has a $250 limit on campaign contributions to candidates by individuals or corporations per year. The ordinance does not affect contributions to separate committees in support of a candidate. 

Five members of the Anderson family of Anderson Homes also donated $495 to Morales’ campaign. She reported receiving $12,744. Morales also received a number of $250 contributions from several unions and private individuals. 

The Million More Voters, a separate election committee supporting her, reported a $5,000 contribution from Operating Engineers Local Union 3 of Alameda. In addition, the committee received $1,000 from Bill Lee, who is Martha’s Kitchen executive director. 

Casey reported $21,704.87 in contributions, with the majority mostly coming from professionals and retired individuals. 

Resendiz reported $7,215.95 in 2022 contributions when he ran for San Benito County Board of Supervisors. He received $857.55 from then-Hollister mayor Ignacio Velazquez. He also received two loans from Nelda Escamilla totaling $2,197.30, and a loan of $1,000 from The Vault (also Velazquez). And, though he accused Morales of accepting money from Victor Gomes, Resendiz received a $99 contribution from him.

Rick Perez self-financed his campaign by contributing $4,211.72. 

Resendiz then left the dais for a few minutes to talk to a KSBW reporter who was there to cover the housing element story. Shortly thereafter, Casey returned to the dais to join Morales and Councilman Tim Burns, who had managed to remain clear of the fray but was overheard by this reporter to whisper to Casey, “this should be in closed session.”

After Resendiz returned, a council majority agreed to table the resolution until a public meeting could be arranged and held on an upcoming Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Building.

Resendiz voted against the motion.

Related BenitoLink stories:

Investigation finds Councilman Rick Perez violated code of ethics | BenitoLink

Public speaks out against comments from Hollister Councilman Resendiz | BenitoLink

Hollister council vote to censure members Richman and Spencer fails | BenitoLink

Hollister Council censures member Rolan Resendiz | BenitoLink

Public speaks out against comments from Hollister Councilman Resendiz | BenitoLink

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The post Hollister Councilman Resendiz maligns colleagues again appeared first on BenitoLink.

Morristown’s top administrator plans to leave his job by the end of June, he announced this week, close to two months after the town’s selectboard chair also resigned. 

The decisions by Eric Dodge, the town administrator, and Bob Beeman, the board chair, followed months of contentious local debate over the Lamoille County town’s proposed 2024 fiscal year budget, which voters overwhelmingly rejected on Town Meeting Day. 

The budget was controversial in part due to its size — more than $10 million, which a small but vocal group of residents argued was too large for the 5,500-person community — as well as salary increases it included for town employees, including Dodge.

A revised budget set to go before voters next month still includes those increases. All Morristown employees have been slated to receive what Dodge has described as an 8.7% cost of living adjustment, though some in certain pay grades would get larger raises.

The town administrator read a resignation letter at Monday’s selectboard meeting, saying that his decision came after “uncountable hours of contemplation.” He didn’t say why he planned to leave; on Friday, he did not return a request for comment.

“My reasons for making the decision are personal,” said Dodge, who was hired in April 2021 after serving on the town’s selectboard. “I do not intend to air them publicly.”

After Dodge read his letter, several board members and town officials — who, in some cases, appeared to be crying or holding back tears — said that while they respected Dodge’s decision to leave, they were disheartened by the position the town was in.  

“It’s very troubling to me,” said Don McDowell, the board’s vice chair. “It saddens me that we’re at this point.” 

Beeman, the former board chair, resigned his seat with a year left in his term just days after the March election. He chalked up his decision, in part, to the town’s political climate becoming “extremely negative and volatile” over the past year, he has said.

At Monday’s meeting, board member Laura Streets said recent months had marked “unprecedented times” for the town. Streets is one of two members elected in March, along with Travis Sabataso, who had campaigned against the proposed budget. 

“I’m actually very sorry that these were your two years in this position,” Streets told Dodge. “It’s been incredibly stressful.”

Streets and Sabataso voted to accept Dodge’s resignation, while board member Chris Palermo voted against it, having said earlier in the meeting that he disagreed with Dodge’s decision and wanted him to stay. Judy Bickford, the board chair, abstained, setting up the possibility that the board would not approve Dodge’s request to leave. 

McDowell, who had the final vote, paused for almost 30 seconds before granting Dodge the board’s approval. His “yes” vote was “the hardest vote I’ve ever taken here,” McDowell told his colleagues.

Dodge said he intended to stay on until a new town administrator was hired, but he said he wanted to be out of the job by June 30.

Monday’s meeting also saw some discussion about the 2024 fiscal year budget, which officials have slimmed down in advance of the planned revote on June 6. 

The new proposal totals about $9.4 million, roughly 13% higher than the budget voters approved in 2022. It’s estimated to increase local tax bills by about 10%, compared to the roughly 25% increase that had been proposed on Town Meeting Day this year.

Town officials said they were able to reduce the size of the budget in part by drawing on about $250,000 of the town’s reserve funds, as well as putting off hiring a new highway department employee. The proposal still includes funding for a new police officer, which the local agency has said is badly needed to bolster coverage on its overnight shift.

All five selectboard members voted in favor of the latest proposal. 

Dodge has defended keeping the salary increases in the budget as a way to keep town jobs competitive at a time in which many other municipalities are vying for workers. In the letter he read Monday night, he spoke highly of the town’s employees.

“My intent when I stepped into this role was to create a work environment built on trust, mutual respect, open communication and personal accountability,” Dodge said. “I couldn’t have selected a better team to bring these concepts to.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Another top Morristown official to resign.

This article was produced with ProPublica as part of its Local Reporting Network initiative. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

For years, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has been dogged by allegations that his family businesses haven’t paid their debts, including fines for environmental violations at their coal plants. One bank is even seeking to garnish his salary as governor to cover an unpaid personal guarantee of a business loan, court documents show.

But these disputes are likely to resurface in what will be one of the most hotly contested races for control of the U.S. Senate in 2024. Last week, Justice, who is immensely popular in the state, announced that he will challenge U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who is often the swing vote on key legislation.

A review by ProPublica in 2020 found that, over three decades, Justice’s constellation of mining, farming and hospitality companies were involved in over 600 lawsuits in more than two dozen states. Many were filed by workers, vendors, business partners and government agencies, alleging they weren’t paid. Often, similar cases were filed in multiple jurisdictions, as lawyers for plaintiffs tried to chase down a Justice company’s assets to settle debts.

By late 2020, the total in judgments and settlements for Justice family businesses had reached $140 million, ProPublica and Mountain State Spotlight found.

Since then, his family business empire has faced more turmoil. Lenders are trying to hold him personally responsible for hundreds of millions in debt. Courts are ordering payment of long-standing environmental penalties.

Neither representatives for Justice nor the family’s businesses responded to a request for comment. In the past, Justice has said that he and his family companies always pay what they owe. The governor has said that his businesses don’t create any conflicts of interest and that he didn’t run for office to get anything for himself.

Justice inherited a coal fortune from his father and expanded it to an empire of agricultural companies and resort hotels, including The Greenbrier, a posh, historic resort located in a valley where southern West Virginia’s mountains meet western Virginia’s rolling hills.

Last week, Justice used The Greenbrier as the backdrop for his announcement that he would seek the Republican nomination, facing U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney in the GOP primary. (Manchin has not announced a reelection bid yet, but in response to questions about Justice he said, “Make no mistake, I will win any race I enter.”)

As we documented, the resort has been at the heart of various conflicts of interest, as major trade associations that lobby state government for their industries have held meetings and conferences there.

And just two days before Justice’s Senate announcement, another of his resorts, Glade Springs, was the subject of state Supreme Court arguments in a case in which the resort homeowners’ association is seeking $6.6 million in property upkeep fees from one of Justice’s companies, which owns lots at the resort.

When he became governor in 2017, Justice said he was turning control of his family businesses over to his adult children. But our investigation found that, while governor, he continued to steer the empire.

In his political campaigns, Justice frequently touted his experience as a businessman and said that his long career in coal and other industries made him suited for the role of West Virginia’s chief executive.

Justice’s coal operations have also been repeatedly pressed to settle allegations of significant pollution problems in deals with regulators, yet the environmental violations have continued. Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that Justice companies must pay $2.5 million in environmental fines. Lawyers for the companies had argued the fines were the result of a misreading of an earlier settlement.

In December, an industrial plant owned by Justice’s family agreed to pay nearly $1 million in fines after releasing excessive air pollution into Black neighborhoods in Birmingham, Alabama. An attorney who works with the Justice family said the consent order would “provide the certainty that the company needs to complete its evaluation of the plant’s future.”

For years, Justice had been considered West Virginia’s richest man and listed by Forbes as a billionaire. But in 2021, Forbes removed that listing. The magazine cited a dispute over $850 million in debt to the now-defunct firm Greensill Capital.

The Justice companies settled that dispute with a payment plan. But last week a longtime banking partner of Justice’s, Carter Bank & Trust, filed documents seeking to collect on a separate $300 million debt. Justice’s son, Jay Justice, said in a statement that the bank had refused a reasonable repayment plan.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice runs for Senate amid stacks of unpaid bills appeared first on Mountain State Spotlight, West Virginia’s civic newsroom.

Long before Prevacus became embroiled in Mississippi’s massive welfare fraud scandal, the drug company’s founder Jake VanLandingham and retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre sought the Trump White House’s help to fund its efforts to launch a new concussion drug, text messages former Gov. Phil Bryant released Thursday show.

The post Bryant Texts: Favre, Partner Sought Trump’s Help Funding Drug Company Named In TANF Scandal appeared first on Mississippi Free Press.

Athens County residents and city officials have formed Take Action Athens, a small, informal group intended to provide support, education, advocacy and awareness regarding transgender people.

The post City officials, community members form group to provide trans resources first appeared on Athens County Independent.