Mayor's Message About State Controller Audit

By Mayor Myrna de Vera

On behalf of the Hercules City Council, I am acknowledging the receipt of the letter from John Chiang, California State Controller, notifying the City of a planned audit of the city's financial transactions for years 2008-2010.  The community of Hercules has responded to the past administration's misdeeds by voting in a new Council within the past eight months.

I assure the citizens of Hercules that your current Council has been taking steps with our skeletal staff  to right the mistakes of the past administration. The Council has been responsive to the grand jury's recommendations and findings and made many positive changes these past few months.

The Council formed several citizen advisory committees to help with finance, legal issues, and the waterfront. Within the next few weeks, the Council will be hiring a new auditor, city attorney, and city manager.  We are cleaning up city hall as best as we can. Hopefully, the Controller's findings will shed light on how Hercules arrived at our current fiscal crisis and we, the people of Hercules, can then move forward.