Inglewood Treasurer Wanda Brown continues her quest to keep taxpayers informed on how their money is being handled under Mayor James T. Butts’ administration.
Although Mayor Butts has prevented Ms. Brown from speaking publicly during regular city council meetings, she continues to ensure 2UrbanGirls readers have her weekly reports that she submits to City Clerk Yvonne Horton to be included with the weekly council reports.
The most troubling revelation is that the city’s revenue manager and revenue supervisor only hold high school diplomas. Transparent California identifies the Revenue Manager as Maria Heaney, who allegedly assisted Mayor Butts’ former girlfriend Melanie McDade underreport her payroll taxes to the IRS without the appropriate paperwork and Revenue Supervisor Peggy Velasquez who is married to a former Inglewood Police officer.
It’s no wonder the city spends hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds on finance consultants through Robert Half.
Treasurer Report 6-30-20 Out of Control Butts
24 Comments
The state spent more than a year doing an audit of Inglewood’s finances and did NOT IDENTIFY ANY WRONGDOING or SIGNIFICANT LOSSES.
Wanda spends every week embarrassing herself and talking about the same OLD information.
How many times does she have to say the city manager and council members are under the mayor’s control (which they’re not), Pinner Construction was overpaid, how much the executive assistant made, that she’s been elected eight times, that her time was cut, etc.?
She sounds like a broken record.
They are under the mayor’s control which is evident from the evolving signature of Artie Fields.
It’s NOT illegal to sign the city manager’s name if he is aware his name is being signed and gives permission.
The May 2020 California State Controllers 30 page audit of Inglewood is on line as a public record.
All residents should read it and make their own decision.
That documents requested were not provided is a significant issue for anyone who has paid taxes. Since there is NO inventory of vehicles or a standard policy for their use it is impossible to say there are no losses. It would be hard to identify loss of a vehicle if there is no inventory?
If Inglewood were a private company the share holders would question the bonuses but this is a city and the dollars belong not to the council but to the people.
The Audit was released only two months ago and it points out that the council is ninth highest paid in the state of the 482 cities reporting This should be notable especially since residents KNOW they were not given the impression that council and their assistants salaries council would continuously increase by such high percentages. and the vote of the people to rescind the increase vote was ignored.
The treasurer is elected by the entire city. She is elected to serve all four districts It is Not the mayors job to deny her access or information or time to address the community
If there were real discussions rather than simple worship during these meetings people might believe the council were capable of reading and thinking on their own.
If you been around Inglewood for years you would not say that about Wanda Brown, she’s a Hard Worker and knows what she’s doing.!! You must be on the Payroll b/c EVERYBODY LOVE Inglewood’s Treasurer. You might need to take Heed about what she’s saying concerning your Tax Money, which is 10% .. I’m guessing it may be more as of 2020
Mayor Butts, Councilman Dodson and Padilla as well as City Manager etc need to be voted out come next election! Seems like a lot of corruption going on! The salaries are OUTRAGEOUS for part time work. Salaries must be decreased and Council meeting times changed back to evenings. They all must go except City Treasurer.
I AGREE ????????
I enjoy Inglewood City Council meeting. lively!
She is pissed because the city won’t give her lifetime medical so she can retire so is making all kinds of nonsense up because she’s pissed off. The city is actually in incredible financial shape.
The Inglewood mayor has been taking advantage and wasting City founds after he got elected because of the changes in city charter installed by former mayor Dorne.
she’s Not Lying Ben
You can BELIEVE SHE HAS PROOF….!!!! Wanda’s been Treasurer Under a LITTA MAYORS for years and she DESEYfull Benefits.. Council people COME and GO and why do they need Full Retirement/Benefits.? Council people are not Supposed to be a PAID POSITION..!!!!! Go back in History you will se that they only got Paid for Gas/Lunch etc.. which was maybe 400.00 a Month
Mayor Butts is doing an AWESOME JOB! The city is in better shape than it’s ever been before.
The campaign contributors and developers agree!!
And why not THEY DON’T LIVE HERE !!
Apparently unmanicured medians and empty store fronts just right for the predatory buyers and their realtors is what you have been hoping for….
Ben, Dr. Brown can retire whenever she chooses as a senior citizen she qualifies for medical benefits called Medicare! She was pointing out that taxpayers have been expected to pay big dollars for former elected and their spouses which other cities do not pay.
We should all be “pissed off” that the city council SET THEIR OWN OUTRAGEOUS salary and routinely “adjust their Own increases. (The council IGNORED the people’s vote to rescind the misrepresented increases.)
DR Brown doesn’t need to make the foolish spending up just read the warrant register yourself.
It is the city council including the mayor that votes to spend frivolously.
Perhaps the property owners should enlighten tenants that when the council spends unwisely, expenses are often covered by increases appearing on the property tax bill as Bonds. These increases result in landlords having to charge HIGHER RENTS!
If the City Financial Condition was as rosy as the Council wants you to believe actual Quarterly reports would be prepared and there would be no reason to cut of the ELECTED TREASURERS speaking time,
Refinancing the City Loan that was nearly paid off is about as wise as making minimum payments to a credit card company . Overtime this leads to paying $1,000.00 for what started as a $350.00 expense
keep up the fantastic work. There are so many parallels I am seeing between Bell and the Inglewood government. The government officials seem to be freely spending anticipated money they don’t yet have and payfor it out of the general fund. The result being Inglewood bankrupcy. Woe is us.
Seems like she’s pretty incompetent and ineffective herself. How long has she been witnessing problems and failing to raise or address?
Part of the Inglewood city hall swamp.
If mayor butts is so wrong..then why is inglewood progressing? Every time there is a black man he has to be a crook..we always as some black women putting our foot on their neck too!! “Black men can’t breathe” take your foot off his neck black queens?
How is it progress when your entire city the ones who voted for you are being swept out the way for those with money. Old floks and families being evicted and he says he didnt know that was happening. He is a known player/cheater. Black has nothing to do with it. Ex cop equals no good.
If this was a “white man” would you be so quick to defend ? Hmmm
If a white man
said make the meetings when black and brown working people can’t attend-would that be okay?
If a white man
hired his” special friend” and paid her 6 times the average black and brown family annual income —would You think that was okay ? (assuming you are not the special friend or her replacement waiting in the wings)
If a white policeman
Told you Miranda warnings didn’t apply to those arrested in His town —would you think that was okay?
If a white man
Told a black elected woman she had no right to talk —-would you defend him?
Inglewood isn’t getting better – rich white billionaire men are getting richer as our black and brown residents get poorer air quality, traffic, noise and insulting attitudes from their elected (not white ) men.
NO MAN who behaves this way should be honored, respected, defended, or re-elected
Inglewood is a diverse community which has been run by minorities for 30+years so please stop with “poor baby stop picking on him” . He is an Adult who ought
to know and do right!
WRONG is WRONG no matter who does it WRONG is still WRONG !
Oh Faye. The only people benefiting from our city council decisions are friends of our city council members. There’s white and Latino folks on the council, too. They’re all bad eggs. Not just the brother on top.
Could this possibly be a “City of Bell” situation, will officials be investigated and arrested for possible embezzlement and/or corruption? How is this continuing?
How can we stop this corruption?
Stop believing it!!
Call the FBI , and US ATTNY GENERAL
BE CAREFUL WHO YOU VOTE FOR