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News Release City of Fernley Leslieann Hayden City Manager’s Office Voice (775) 784-9851 Fax (775) 784-9869 [EMAIL REDACTED] 9/19/08 www.cityoffernley.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE An Open Letter from Fernley City Manager To Whom It May Concern; Re: 9/17/08 Leader Courier Article & 9/17/08 Council Meeting Allegations of Ethics Violations Ladies and Gentlemen, This week there were two items that need a special comment from the City. In the 9/17/08 edition of the Leader Courier, Betty Aleck wrote an article and based her information on allegations made by resident and former City Council Candidate, Joe Specchio. In this article, there are allegations that two City Staff members have violated ethics laws. Betty Aleck chose not to contact anyone from the City to clarify the information, not even the two employees. She issued a story that was a one sided negative attack on the City. In addition to this, at the City Council meeting that night, a City Council Candidate, Kelly Malloy, made statements about two expenditures implying that there was wrongdoing. Yet, that candidate failed to provide the details and purpose of the expenditures. All of the expenditures noted by former Council Candidate Specchio and current Council Candidate Malloy were for legitimate City purposes. The purchases of food by Keith Penner, Parks & Recreation Director were for Council meetings, ranging from approximately $40 to $90 per meeting (the article was not clear regarding a third meeting). The purchases of compost from Stix Livestock were for top dressing of Parks fields and the Town and City has done this for years. The purchases by Jeff McGowan, City Attorney were for legitimate travel and meeting expenses related to City business. In addition and for the record, there has been no written Ethics Violation notice provided to the City, and as usual, the City always cooperates with the Ethics Commission on responding to complaints. I do not know if Council Candidate Malloy asked about the specific purchases that she claimed were inappropriate (her statement was that staff spent $326.75 for coffee and fruit and spent $240.85 for bagel trays and coffee). Here is more information: The City’s Youth City Council hosted their first Lecture Series on Tuesday evening, July 3, 2007, focusing on the Civil War Battle of featuring David Stix, Jr. as the presenter. The event was open to the public and the expense was $326.75 for coffee, juice, pastry, and fruit trays. Incidentally, David Stix, Jr. donated $500 from his prior campaign to the Youth City Council for events such as this. The City paid $240.85 for coffee, juice, pastry, and fruit trays for an all City staff meeting Tuesday morning, on 7/10/07, from approximately 7:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M. These expenditures are for legitimate City business. Former Council Candidate Specchio was provided all of the records in City Hall as per the public record request procedures and he made many employees spend hours of time providing him with all of the information, and yet he failed to mention the full story as noted above. There are many more details available if someone desires specific information. If anyone has any questions, please contact me at (775) 784-9858. Sincerely, Gary A. Bacock City Manager Cc: Mayor and City Council Department Heads Reno Gazette Journal/Leader Courier Managers