City Hall experienced high turnover rate in the last year

Editor's note: This is the first installment in a six-part series examining key issues in the City of Menifee. We have made every effort to be accurate and fair to all parties. Although some of the items covered here may be considered sensitive issues, we believe it is important that our readers are well-informed of developments that could affect them.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A total of 38 employees have left the City of Menifee in the last year, according to City documents. Some who have contacted Menifee 24/7 say they were fired without cause or resigned under pressure.

On average, one employee left the City every 10 days for an entire year, resulting in a turnover of 16 percent of the City’s workforce. This is only one of many issues addressed in a Menifee 24/7 investigation of City practices, use of taxpayer funds, and allegations of a toxic work environment.

“I used to hear Menifee is the best place to work. I don’t see how they could ever get that rating,” said Kinney Geer, who resigned his position in the Public Works Department in October 2020. “When I first started, I loved it. Before long, I hated it. I would go to work thinking, ‘What will I get in trouble for today?’”

Geer is one of six former City of Menifee employees interviewed by Menifee 24/7 who described intimidation by superiors, inconsistency in discipline of employees, lack of training on equipment, and false and misleading statements to the public by city officials. All six individuals worked in either the Public Works Department or Community Services Department – two departments that had only one director from August 2020 through May 2021.

Of the 38 employees who left City of Menifee employment between June 1, 2020 and June 8, 2021, four were major department directors or managers: Jeff Wyman, assistant city manager; Daniel Alvarado, human resources director; Jason Hendrix, community services manager; and Jonathan Smith, public works director and city engineer.

Smith left the City in August 2020. He has declined to comment on the record about his departure, including whether it was a forced resignation. City manager Armando Villa (left) didn’t replace Smith for nine months, instead hiring consultants and bringing back retired building officer Colin McNie on a special assignment -- all this after appointing community services director Jonathan Nicks as interim public works director in addition to his duties in the other department.

During this time, all staff reports to City Council about Capital Improvement Projects were made by staff members serving under Nicks, or by employees in the planning department. At least one employee said he never saw Nicks at a public works project or heard from him regarding such projects.

“I thought Nicks did a fairly good job, but I think it was asking too much to have him leading two departments.” said Gabriel Moreno, who was let go by the City in April. “I never saw him at public works sites during his time as director there.”

Trouble started after move to Public Works

Moreno told Menifee 24/7 he has lived in Menifee since age 7 and was excited about his hiring as a part-time worker in the Community Services Department three years ago. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit more than a year ago, Moreno said he was reassigned to the Public Works Department to help finish converting the old City Hall building into the new Menifee Police Department headquarters.

“That’s when the trouble started,” Moreno said. “I saw six people come and go in nine months.”

Moreno said that when his hours in the Community Services Department were reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, he looked forward to the extra hours when transferred to Public Works. He said he worked on the irrigation system and parking lot improvements for the parking lot at the Menifee Police Department building and received praise for his work, including a Meritorious Service Award.

Still working on probation in Public Works after the opening of Menifee PD, Moreno said he soon began to feel uncomfortable with the work environment.

“I think I’m a pretty easygoing guy. I can get along with anyone,” Moreno said. “But in Public Works, I felt like they have a magnifying glass on everything you’re doing. I felt I was not taught or properly trained on equipment they had me using. They’d show me once and expect me to know it.

“They wanted me to be trained on machinery, but I was never fully trained. I was told I needed to learn faster. I could work a patch truck, but a little Bobcat and tractors and a grading machine … I didn’t have much training. If I was given better leadership, I think I could’ve done a great job. I took pride in what I did.”

Moreno said things got worse when a superior asked him to dig up dirt on a co-worker.

“They wanted me to conspire to get another person fired,” Moreno said. “I was assigned to work with him, and the supervisor tried to use me against him. Every day I’d come off my shift and would be asked what we did every minute. They were looking for stuff on him. I understand it was my job to tell the truth, but I didn’t ask to play Judas.”

Then one day in April, Moreno said, he was called into the office, was told he didn’t pass probation, was told to sign a paper and asked to leave.

“I came in on a Friday, worked half a day, then they called me in and said, ‘You have to sign these documents,’” Moreno said. “They blindsided me.”

'Basically, I was pushed out the door'

Dave Brooks, a park maintenance worker in the Community Services Department, said he was placed on paid administrative leave in December 2019 and was eventually fired in June 2020.

“I was on leave and I just got a letter saying, ‘You’re fired,’” Brooks said. “Basically, I was pushed out the door."

Brooks, 50, said he had previously applied for a promotion in park maintenance and believed he was the most qualified for the job because of his decades of experience and certification to work on playground equipment. He said that a superior instead hired “his best friend” for the job, even though that person was not certified on playground equipment, with the City providing him training for the certification while on he was probation as a maintenance worker. Brooks said he wasn't notified the position had been filled and when he asked his superior, the reply was, "We already picked somebody."

“I felt like they ganged up on me,” Brooks said. “They were almost pushing me to quit. I’m better off now, but it’s sad to see all the people who are leaving. Nicks had a lot to do with that. He used all his ammunition to go after me. Jason (Hendrix) was great; he just finally got tired of it all and got out.”

Another former Public Works employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he was forced to resign in March.

“It’s awful,” he said about the department. “I approached the City with multiple complaints and nothing was done.”

'HR acted like it was no big deal'

The former employee said he complained several times to superiors about his immediate supervisor, but although “there were multiple times employees were put on paid administrative leave, he never was.” The employee said he and his co-workers were subjected to profanity-filled tirades, and that “I went to HR, but they acted like it was no big deal.”

He said he got a bad feeling about the department from the moment of his job interview.

“During the interview process, I was told, ‘I’m looking to get rid of these other guys, so there will be a spot for you,’” he said.

“It’s by far the worst agency I’ve ever worked for. I was always treated like a piece of trash. They promise certain guys so many things. Some guys who are promoted are yes men. Two had zero public works experience. Each position has five steps. How can somebody with zero experience jump one or two spots?”

Villa told Menifee 24/7 that during the nine months the City was without a full-time public works director, he split the supervision duties (taking engineering and inspections) with Wyman (CIP implementation) and Nicks (specific duties not listed). “It was exhausting for all of us, pulling double duty,” Villa said.

'I felt like I was dealing with frat kids'

Said Moreno: “Here I thought that working for a City like Menifee, what a break I got. I thought we would all be working toward a common goal.

“I started with the city just out of college. I tried to help bring good morale to the staff. After six months, I started picking up their bad traits. I was cussing a lot and complaining about others. That’s not me. I felt like I was dealing with frat kids.”

While those interviewed blamed middle management for most of the problems, one said that ultimately, city manager Villa should be held accountable.

“If the city manager doesn’t know what’s going on, he’s out of touch with what’s happening,” Geer said.

As previously mentioned, Daniel Alvarado – the Human Resources manager at the time – also is no longer with the City of Menifee and could not be reached for comment. Nicks did not respond to a request for comment.

“Employee performance issues which lead to separation is always a complicated matter,” Villa said. “Minimizing liability for the city is always our number one concern. I cannot discuss personnel issues of this nature.”

Villa has been city manager in Menifee since December of 2017, when he signed a three-year contract with a base salary of $205,000 a year. According to City documents, the City Council increased his salary through a contract amendment in June of 2018. In August of 2019, a second amendment extended his contract through December 2023.

Villa's total pay with benefits for 2020 was listed as $359,089, according to documents from the State Controller's Office provided to Menifee 24/7 through a public records request. The second amendment to Villa's contract includes:

-- "A commitment that the City Council will not terminate city manager without cause for a period of six months following any general municipal election at which a new City Council member is elected."

-- "An eight month extension to the time window within which City Manager may exercise his rights to recoup moving expenses."

-- "Clarification that city manager may cash out accrued vacation and administrative leave twice per year."

TOMORROW: In part 2 of our series, we take a closer look at the Holland Road Overpass project and two other issues of concern to businesses owners and a resident.