Publication Date: Friday, June 03, 2005
News Digest
News Digest
(June 03, 2005)
City manager wants to stay in house post-retirement
City Manager Frank Benest wants the option to stay in his Palo Alto home, which he jointly owns with the city, after he retires. A City Council subcommittee has agreed to the request and it will come before the full council Monday night for approval.
Benest, who is 55-years-old and close to retirement, has two school-age children he is raising as a single father after the death of his wife last year.
"He is interested in some stability for his family," said Councilwoman Dena Mossar, the chair of the subcommittee.
The updated agreement, negotiated in closed session, would allow him to stay in the home until Dec. 31, 2017 or until his children graduate or leave Palo Alto public schools, whichever comes first.
If the council first fires Benest, however, he will still need to sell the home and move out.
In 2001, a year after he was hired, Benest purchased his four-bedroom, three-bath home on Bryant Street for $1.585 million. The city paid $900,000 of the purchase price and loaned him $500,000.
The committee is also recommending allowing Benest to choose to have the city pay a portion of his property taxes in exchange for reducing his salary by $10,000. Until now, the city had not been paying any of the property tax. The amount of the property tax the city would pay also would be approximately $10,000.
"The city is reaping all the benefits for the investment and paying none of the property tax," Mossar said. "Frank has said this isn't fair."
When the home is sold, the city and Benest will proportionately split the return on the investment.
-- Bill D'Agostino
Utilities investigator named city human resources director
Russell Carlsen, the outside consultant Palo Alto hired to investigate allegations of misuse of city equipment and lax supervision in the Utilities Department early this year, has been named the city's new director of human resources.
City Manager Frank Benest cited "very positive feedback on Russ' performance from line and management staff throughout the organization" as a major factor in his selection for the HR position.
The appointment is subject to City Council ratification at its Monday meeting. The annual salary for the position is $144,310.
Carlsen also had been hired to help with staff cuts for the 2005-06 city budget, and with negotiations relating to temporary and part-time -- or "hourly unit" -- city employees.
According to the city, he has deep management experience, including serving as city manager and interim city manager in a number of California cities. He holds a masters degree in management/human resources from the University of Redlands and received his bachelors degree from the University of Washington.
"Russ' experience in all aspects of city government and his outstanding attitude give him the tools to help us strengthen our organization," Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison said of his appointment.
-- Jay Thorwaldson
Woman may be tried for elder abuse
A San Mateo County Superior Court judge will decide in June whether an East Palo Alto woman accused of neglecting and stealing from her incompetent grandmother will face a trial for elder abuse.
At her initial court appearance Tuesday, Jacqueline Watts, 44, pleaded not guilty to charges of elder neglect with a great bodily injury enhancement, and financial elder abuse with an allegation of taking more than $150,000. Watts could face a maximum sentence of more than 10 years if convicted, according to prosecutor Melissa McKowan.
Watts was arrested Friday afternoon at the Verbena Drive home she shared with her grandmother, the East Palo Alto police report.
According to McKowan, Watts took the 92-year-old woman to Stanford Hospital on April 27, claiming her grandmother had been sexually assaulted. While doctors found no evidence of sexual assault, they found bedsores and other apparent neglect. "She was dehydrated, she was malnourished," McKowan said. "Completely uncommunicative."
The victim had been suffering from a declining state of dementia before she was hospitalized, according to McKowan "Usually people's symptoms get much worse when they're dehydrated and malnourished," she said. The victim is now in a nursing home, where she remains unresponsive.
An investigation revealed that an unemployed Watts obtained a power of attorney for her grandmother after the victim became incompetent to make decisions, and recently took out a $200,000 mortgage on the woman's home.
Watts recently purchased a $60,000 Hummer and plasma TV was found in the home, McKowan said, adding that with no way of repaying the $1,900 loan payments, the victim's house is in danger of foreclosure.
Watts may have been excluding others -- including an Adult Protective Services worker as well as Watts' brother -- from entering the home, McKowan said. It is yet unclear how long the alleged elder neglect lasted or why Watts finally decided to seek treatment for her grandmother.
Watts is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on June 9 at 9 a.m. She remains in custody on $300,000 bail. Due to the nature of the case and Watts' lack of income, the district attorney's office is allowed to examine the sources of bail, "I don't want her bailing out with stolen money," McKowan said.
-- Bay City News Service
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