City of Carson insiders are concerned some staff members have been cut out of the coming years budget. Others say they are simply being “reassigned to other departments”.
City Clerk Donesia Gause’s office typically processes passports.
Yesterday, during a 10:00AM special meeting, during the budget workshop, Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes made a motion to remove those services which would result in two employees from Gause’s office being fired.
In the city of Inglewood, City Clerk Yvonne Horton’s office doesn’t process passport applications, it is handled through the Parks, Recreation and Library Services department. Library staff accepts the applications, during limited hours, and accepts fees totaling $35.00 per application. The fees collected don’t support needing two dedicated staff members to process the applications.
The city is suggesting passport services be turned over to California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Those in attendance commented they don’t want to have to go that far, and pay for parking, to get services they are accustomed to getting at city hall.
Mayor Pro-Tem Cedric Hicks abstained from the vote as there are allegations his daughter recently received a full scholarship to CSUDH. According to a comment made by political consultant Zeke Vidaurri, Hicks uncovered alleged misdeeds by Gause, that he made public during a recent council meeting.
Others ponder if this is payback of some sort after current Carson Councilman Jim Dear was recalled and removed from his position as City Clerk as he supported the motion to remove the two positions from the budget.
Related: Carson voters recall embattled City Clerk Jim Dear
Carson will hold another special meeting tomorrow, June 13th at 6:00PM to discuss changing the voting system from at-large to district only.
Does the City Clerk’s office need two people to process passport applications? On average, how many applications do they receive monthly/annually? It will be interesting to see how Ms. Gause supports saving these staff members jobs in her department.
**update**
This article has been updated to remove the prior picture with the photo of the Councilmember who made the motion.
