THE MITCHELL LAW FIRM, LLP
CLIFFORD B. MITCHELL (1927 - 2010)
PAUL A BRISSO*
NANCY K DELANEY*
RUSSELL S GANS
NICHOLAS R KLOEPPEL
RYAN T PLOTZ
AMY A HUNT
KAREN J ROEBUCK, Senior Associate
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
426 FIRST STREET
EUREKA, CALIFORNIA 95501
www.mitchelllawfirm.com
Established 1915
TELEPHONE (707) 443-5643
FACSIMILE (707) 444-9586
P.O. DRAWER 1008
EUREKA, CA 95502
WILLIAM F. MITCHELL (Retired)
JOHN M. VRIEZE (Retired)
EMERY F. MITCHELL (1896 - 1991)
WALTER J. CARTER (1949 – 1993)
R.C. DEDEKAM (1929 – 2011)
* Of Counsel
July 5, 2022
Via USPS Certified Mail
Dianna Rios
RE: Fortuna Business Improvement District
Dear Ms. Rios:
Thank you for your letter dated June 16, 2022, in which you state that you “still do not believe the Fortuna Business Improvement Corporation overpaid [you]” during your tenure as the Executive Director. Your letter follows my prior letter in which I enclosed the Auditor’s documentation upon which she based her conclusion that you received overpayments in the amount of $9,656.02, itemized as follows:
Date of Payment Amount
June 30, 2015 $ 1,215.02
July 1, 2020 $ 4,000.00
November 1, 2020 $ 3,000.00
November 23, 2020 $ 1,000.00
July 31, 2021 $ 405.00
You conclude your letter with an apparent acknowledgement that you received the abovelisted payments, but reason that “proof of payment is not evidence of an overpayment.” You further quote from Emily Hobelmann’s letter to you in which she states that “we do not believe there was any deliberate misuse of FBID funds.” The City is due to provide a report to the Council on any lose ends arising from its termination of the FBID contract, one of which remains the issue of the overpayments found by the Auditor. While I know you disagree with the Auditor’s conclusions, you July 5, 2022
have yet to provide an explanation as to why the above-listed payments, which were in addition to your annual salary, were proper. So that I have your position and can provide your explanation to the Council, would you please explain the basis for the abovepayments and why, during calendar year 2020, you received $2,000 in sick pay and $6,000 in vacation pay, which amounts appear to be in addition to your salary? As mentioned previously, the City is relying upon the findings of the Auditor and the documents provided. As you were the sole person in charge of handling payroll for the Corporation and given the lack of any FBID Board minutes approving the abovereferenced payments, your explanation is critical for the Council’s consideration. At this point, all the Council has is the Auditor’s conclusions.
Thank you for your attention to this correspondence. We look forward to your response.
Respectfully,
Ryan T. Plotz
CC: City Manager