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Stieringer Employment Scam

This Page: https://https://copswiki.org/Common/StieringerEmploymentScam

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Table of Contents

Latest News

  • Special Common.GrossmontHealthcareBoard meeting scheduled for Monday, November 15 at 7:30am to review the Stieringer issue in closed session. However, public comment is accepted. If you have anything to say regarding this situation.

Background

  1. Common.JamesStieringer has served on the Common.GrossmontHealthcareDistrict Board since 1992. Compensation in this position is listed as $6K per year, but there are additional benefits, such as reimbursement of expenses and per-diem compensation for additional meetings. Mr. Stieringer received the most votes of any candidate in the 2008 election when he was recently re-elected.

  2. The GHD Board approved the creation of the Projects Liaison Monitor position. The job posting on the GHD website said “This new full time position is included in the District’s FY 2010-2011 Administration Budget,” implying that even if it was approved in the past, it was part of the current budget and regarded as “new.” The job posting did not refer to any changes that would make the position necessary and there are other people and organizations that currently complete those tasks, including the CEO Common.BarryJantz, the Independent Citizens Bond Oversight Committee (ICBOC), and contract management firms, such as Parsons. It remains an open question as to whether this position actually needs to be filled given that the district has operated successfully to this point.

  3. CEO Jantz decided to fill the position and advertised it in the San Diego Daily Transcript for two weeks. No press releases were submitted to the general media and subscribers to the GHD announcement list were not notified. The announcement was not posted to the normal news page of the GHD website. The application closing date was November 9, 2010 at noon.

  4. Common.JamesStieringer submitted his resignation on Friday, November 5, and stated therein that he was doing so to allow him to apply for the Projects Liaison Monitor position, and he stated that it was not a sure thing that he would get the position. The fact that he resigned means he realized it would be a conflict of interest to apply for the job while he still maintained his role as board member, and would therefore potentially be asked to vote on his own confirmation.

  5. COPS submitted a letter to the board through CEO Common.BarryJantz broaching concerns about the lack of notice, the dearth of applicants, and the apparent insider-dealing with Stieringer. COPS recommended that the rationale for the position be reviewed, the position be announced fully, and for the application period to be extended at least 30 days.

  6. The GHD Board called a special emergency meeting for November 10, 2010, to address concerns defined by COPS and other board members. COPS Coordinator RayLutz spoke to the issue prior to the closed session. Board member Stieringer was not present, his name plate was covered and his picture removed from the lobby in response to Stieringer's resignation.

    The report of the closed session stated that the pulled the position and rolled it into other positions that were being defined. COPS believes that that action proves that the position was not essential and apparently contrived to allow Stieringer to slip into a position with higher salary, yet keeping his influence in the GHD, and pumping up his CALPERS retirement.

    7. Later that day, Stieringer submitted a letter requesting that he be allowed to rescind his resignation, now that the job was not available.

  7. The GHD Board has called another emergency meeting for Monday, November 15, 2010, to address Stieringer's request to be allowed back on the board of directors. The board asserts the right to process this as a closed session stating that there has been threats of lawsuits. However, we know of no threats.

Timeline

  • 1992 - JamesStieringer begins his tenure on GrossmontHealthcareBoard
  • 2010 - Budget includes Projects Liaison Monitor
  • 2010-10 - BarryJantz starts two weeks of advertising in the Daily Transcript but does not further promulgate news of the opening.
  • 2010-11-05 -- JamesStieringer resigns from his seat on the board
  • 2010-11-05 -- JamesStieringer applies for the Projects Liaison Monitor position.
  • 2010-11-09 -- Application period closes for Projects Liaison Monitor, with three applicants.
  • 2010-11-10 -- GrossmontHealthcareBoard meets in an emergency meeting and eliminates the position.
  • 2010-11-10 -- JamesStieringer attempts to rescind his resignation
  • 2010-11-15 -- Special meeting scheduled to review status of Stieringer. Meeting was conducted in closed session in Brown Act violation. RayLutz complained that the meeting should be conducted in open session as there was no pending litigation on the matter. See media below for detailed coverage of this meeting and submission by RayLutz. Conclusion is that Stieringer's request that his resignation be rescinded be denied and seat will be filled by appointment, accepting applications soon.
  • 2010-11-17 -- CalAware sent the district a demand letter stating that they believe the meeting was in violation of the BrownAct.
  • 2010-11-18 -- GHD Attorney Jeffrey Scott responded to the demand letter.
  • 2010-11-23 -- GHD holds a special meeting to rescind the closed session meeting and redo it in open session. Additionally, Attorney Jeff Scott admitted that his earlier position that the closed session meeting was valid was wrong and that he would no longer adopt such a position in the future.
  • 2010-12-06 -- GHD grants Stieringer the honorary title of Director Emeritus and vote to name the conference center after him. RayLutz objects to both actions, stating that the first is unlawful and the second is just a bad idea.

Recent Articles and Media: (Add | All Media)

Metadata
ProjectName Stieringer Employment Scam
ProjectDescription GrossmontHealthcareBoard member JamesStieringer resigned to slip into a $60K/year position he helped create.
ProjectFounder RaymondLutz
ProjectCurator RaymondLutz
ProjectType GovtOversight
ProjectParents GrossmontHealthcareBoard
ProjectStatus Closed