INTheNEWS Cortes / Terra Loma City Action

San Bernardino County Sentinel Friday, September 11, 2009

Grand Terrace Closing Out Contract with Terra Loma

The city of Grand Terrace is taking steps to eliminate its contractual arrangement with Terra Loma Real Estate for property management services.

The move comes on the heels of recent publicity about councilwoman Bea Cortes and her professional relationship with Terra Loma. Cortes has for years worked as a sales agent with the company, which was founded and is owned by Gene Carlstrom, a former member of the Grand Terrace city council.

Cortes has until only recently consistently voted, as a member of the city council, to approve the consent calendars that are a part of the council’s agenda at its twice monthly meetings. The consent calendar, in Grand Terrace as in all cities, typically contains multiple items pertaining to the function of the city government, all of which are deemed noncontroversial and routine matters and are bundled together so they can be approved in a single yes or no vote of the council.

In Grand Terrace as elsewhere, the consent calendar contains the city’s check register, that is, a listing of the checks that have been written to the city’s various vendors and contractors.

City payments to Terra Loma for the property management service it provides are made by check. Those payments are then ratified by the city council as an item on the consent calendar.

Available records show that in the last year, the city has made at least 11 payments to Terra Loma totalling $8,366.47. Cortes participated in the votes to approve at least nine of those, including a vote made as recently as Au¬gust 11.

Cortes last month insisted she had done noting illegal in casting any of those votes.

Government Code Section 1090 prohibits an elected official from participating in a vote on any matter in which he or she has a financial interest. A payment to a business owned by that official or a business that employs the official or one with which the official is professionally affiliated is construed as having a bearing on that official’s financial interest.

Though Cortes has not been arrested or charged for any of her votes, one of her council colleagues, councilman Jim Miller on July 15 was arrested by San Bernardino County district attorney’s investigators and charged with violating Government Code section 1090. That charge stemmed from votes Miller had made to approve the consent calendar which contained check registers that contained payments for the city's legal advertisements that were printed in his wife's newspaper, the Grand Terrace City News. Miller’s wife is the sole owner of that paper and two others, the Colton City News and the Loma Linda City News.

Miller had never voted to authorize the city to purchase the ads. That decision had been made by city staff members who had determined that the rates in the Grand Terrace City News were lower than in competing newspapers. Like Cortes, Miller had relied upon an assurance provided by city attorney John Harper that as long as the newspaper was his wife’s sole property, the city’s purchase of the ads from her represented for Jim Miller no conflict.

It now appears that the city of Grand Terrace is rethinking the soundness of Harper’s advice.

“We have a request for proposals out for a property manager,” act¬ing city manager Bernie Simon told the Sentinel this week. “We are in the process of ending our relationship with Terra Loma.”

Simon said that as far as he knew, “There was no RFP [request for bid] process that we went through when we hired them [Terra Loma]. We’re now refreshing our bids for property management service.”

Simon said Terra Loma would be free to put in a bid to provide that service.

City officials have indicated, however, that the use of one of the city council member’s employers as a contractor represents a problem for the city. It is anticipated that in any future votes made to confirm payments that will be made to Terra Loma to compensate that company for work it has carried out or, until a new contract is in place, is continuing to carry out, Cortes will abstain from those votes.

Added Detail:

City Attorney John Harper hired by Tom Schwab with Council Approval however there were no open applications for the position. Tom Schwab just picked a Friend he could work with. This is how City Contracts for Services was "Managed". All Professional services were "Friends" of the Schwab, no Request for Proposals, or bids on hourly rates. Where Tom Wanted a Red Curb he was sure to get a traffic engineer he paid to supported his desires.

Look around at the great legacy of advise Tom Schwabs Friends have provided Grand Terrace. Outdoor Adventure Center, Promotion of the reopening of the HighGrove Power Plant. Failed Redevelopment plans on Freeway Frontage, Barton RD and Losses in Court Cases after the City followed the Advise of the City Attorney, Tom Schwab's Friend.

John Harper is unprepared for the meetings, and is often playing games or fiddling with his blackberry during City Council Meetings. He should have reviewed the Redlight Camera Contract and been able to answer questions of the council during the last meeting. He sat there like a school boy who had not done his homework, and didn't want to be called upon in class.
For this we pay him?

It is time to review ALL the Professional Service Contracts that are part of the Schwab Era of Government.

This is one of the orriginal issues of this blog... Now that it is in PRINT there may be action...


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