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HomeMy WebLinkAbout00 - Non-Agenda Item - CorrespondenceReceived After Agenda Printed November 10, 2020 Non -Agenda Item 1533 Santiago Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660 November 10, 2020 Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council: 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92660 As you know, I've been a long-time resident of the City and employee of the Newport Beach Finance Department. During my twenty-nine years of employment with the City, I worked for the last five Newport Beach City Managers. Prior to employment with the City, I was an auditor working out of Fashion Island and the City was one of my many Southern California clients. Up until recently, I was a well-respected member of the community and revered by my employees. Along with my staff, predecessors, Finance Committee and Council members over my twenty-nine years, I had an excellent track record of producing balanced budgets during good times and bad, often with significant surpluses. I was also the architect behind many of the City's financial policies, strategies and tactics over almost three decades. As you may know, I was placed on administrative leave on October 20th and terminated without cause on November 2nd. The reasons for my dismissal have been vague at best: • We are not on the same page • We have difference in management styles What I have observed is a brazen and vindictive management style unsuitable to a leadership position at Newport Beach, in my view. Even prior to my termination there are several Directors who expressed fear they would be terminated and others that are just trying to stay out of the CM's cross hairs. This unsettling sentiment has trickled down and demoralized line staff in the organization that either have resigned or are planning their retirement, and/or seeking employment elsewhere. This isn't limited to Finance Department employees. One of the more unsettling experiences I had with City Manager (CM) Leung was regarding our planned internal audit program. After having our internal auditors, Moss Adams prepare an initial Enterprise Risk Assessment, the City Manager decided that Moss Adams was not suited to do the follow-up review of our warehouse options, an area that both Moss Adams and I previously identified to the CM as an area that contained operational and internal control risks. Instead of letting the experts, Moss Adams, do the work, CM Leung determined that Assistant City Manager (ACM) Carol Jacobs would be better suited to perform the review. While competent in many other areas, to my knowledge, neither the CM nor ACM have a degree in finance, accounting or business nor do they have any background as an auditor. Regardless, ACM Jacobs started the review June 1 and issued her Final Report on September 23 allowing staff to comment on the report for inaccuracies, which is standard procedure. In my assessment, she did a fine job on the report and identified several good areas for improvement. What happened next was very alarming to me and raised concerns as a former auditor. One week later, on September 30th, ACM Jacobs issued a "Revised Final Report," placing the Finance Department staff and management in an unfavorable light with reputation -damaging unsubstantiated rumors about one of my employee that was later thoroughly debunked. When I asked ACM Jacobs the reasons for the recent changes to the final report, she stated the following: • CM Leung made ACM Jacobs, make changes to the report for a review that the CM did not participate in; • CM Leung wanted the findings to be "brutal"; • CM Leung "appears to be building a case to fire you" per ACM Jacobs; and • ACM Jacobs acknowledged I did not deserve to be fired. Beyond the humiliation and damage to my reputation by being terminated for no substantive reason, I find CM Leung's actions to be callous and irreparably damaging to the organization. I had been working on succession planning for years but instead of appointing my Deputy Director as the Interim Finance Director, the CM appointed ACM Jacobs. I believe ACM's undergraduate degree is in Communications, with no degree in business, finance, accounting or closely related field. While my long-time Accounting Manager has already resigned from the organization horrified by the recent events and lack of any compassionate leadership, I understand others will also follow in the coming months or when opportunities arise. Also perplexing, instead of appointing our Sr. Accountant as Interim Accounting Manager someone that is intimately familiar with closing the City's books, CM Leung appointed Deputy Finance Director Montano as Interim Accounting Manager. This seems totally at odds with Succession Planning. Apparently, the CM will have ACM Jacobs act in every capacity where the CM wants to control the narrative. In order to clean out my office and gather my personal effects, I was allowed to re-enter the building after regular office hours. My employees were ordered to leave early and specifically instructed not to speak to me if we crossed paths. I was greeted by the HR Director and the Police Chief who supervised my exodus. After the privilege of being entrusted with the City's purse strings for twenty-nine years, I now apparently need to be escorted out by the HR Director and Chief of Police. The Chief was gracious about his new duties, but it was a demeaning and embarrassing experience for the both of us. I was twenty- nine year public servant being treated as a criminal. Let me be clear, I have not sued the City and am only interested in negotiating a separation agreement and to bring to light some of the CM's heavy-handed, bullying management practices. At age 53 with 29 years of service, it may not be easy for me to find replacement income especially with the damage to my reputation. I am two years shy of the minimum age I would even consider retiring, and frankly had hoped to work until 60, had the workplace hostility subsided. Had I been able to work two additional years until age 53, my accrued pension benefit would have increased by $500,000. In the private sector, I understand executives that are let go without cause, are customarily paid two years of salary as severance. Current public sector openings for Finance Director are not geographically desirable, including Rosemead, San Bernardino or even further. With a daughter in high school and my forever -home in Newport Beach, moving is not much of an option. Originally, the City was open to me staying on to the end of the Calendar year. When I tried to negotiate better terms to my departure, I asked to stay on until the end of the fiscal year offering to pay for a large part of the time with my leave bank. The City flat out rejected these terms and ended negotiations, with me being terminated without cause. I had thought of myself as a long-time valued employee. I believe the CM's treatment of me to be callous, reckless and lacked any sort of empathy, which is not in alignment with the City's values, in my view. I hope the Council and the Finance Committee agree that I deserve to be treated better and this sort of heavy-handed bullying is not acceptable in Newport Beach. While I understand the City may not be able to make me whole, please consider directing the CM and City Attorney to allow me to retire from the City with some dignity and appoint an impartial mediator to help reach a parting of our ways. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, Dan Matusiewicz 949.279.8754 Cell danmatu@protonmail.com Attachment: Matusiewicz Termination Letter November 2, 2020 Dan Matusiewicz 1533 Santiago Newport Beach, CA 92660 Dear Dan: CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, California 92660 949 644-3200 newportbeachca.gov/communityclevelopment Delivered via USPS and via email: danmatu@protonmail.com This letter will confirm that the City of Newport Beach has decided not to continue your employment, and accordingly, your paid administrative leave is ending and you are being released without cause from your full-time position as Finance Director/City Treasurer effective November 2, 2020. As stated in your offer letter dated September 19, 2012, your employment is at -will and may be terminated at any time, with or without cause. Your final paycheck for pay period ending November 8, 2020, including any hours of accrued Flex Leave, will be directly deposited into your account (less any RHS required contributions) on the regularly scheduled payday, November 13, 2020. Additionally, in accordance with your offer letter, you will receive a lump sum of 10 weeks of pay in your final paycheck. For benefits related questions, please contact Jill Camille Ortiz at 644-3310. Please contact Human Resources Director Barbara Salvini at 644-3259 to make arrangements to return any City property that you may have and to coordinate the collection of any personal belongings from your office. Sincerely, Grace K. Leung City Manager C: Personnel File Received After Agenda Printed NEWPORT BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY November 10, 2020 Non -Agenda Item Youth Ocean Art presented by Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce November 9, 2020 - January 8, 2021 This collection of youth ocean art calls for care for our friends in the oceans. Study shows plastic in the oceans will triple in 20 years. These young artists use creative and thought-provoking messages to call for change. "Ocean health continues to deteriorate because of man's selfish desires." "That beautiful life is dying in that dark ocean because of that plastic water bottle." "A fish is trapped by a net full of plastic wastes, metal cans and toxic batteries." "The person is the injurer since the person is the consumer of the bag." "The plastic industry also advertises their products with flashy colors to entice their consumers, but are secretly a monster in disguise." "Some cultural characteristics include success, courage, ambition and perseverance, which are key characteristics activists and the rest of the world need to embody if we want to save our oceans." For our children, our environment and our economy, we must support every business and every policy that aim at plastic reduction - now. And most importantly, each of us must lead by example - with a sense of duty and a vision for the future. (Work on display is not for sale.) NEWPORT BEACH CULTURAL ARTS 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, California 92660 (949) 717.3800 NEWPORT BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY )%,42021 ocean awareness contest 2021 THEME: WATER RISING J. bowseat.org/contest The 10th annual Ocean Awareness Contest is a platform for young people to learn about environmental issues through art -making and creative communication, explore their relationship to a changing world, and become advocates for positive change. Students ages 11- 18 from around the world are invited to participate. NEWPORT BEACH CULTURAL ARTS 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, California 92660 (949) 717.3800