For many months, the Mono Lake Committee and a list of other supporters worked tirelessly to save the Mono Lake State Tufa Reserve from threatened State closure. Now, the Associated Press has revealed that the director of California State Parks and other officials “sat on nearly $54 million in surplus money for years while parks were threatened with closure over budget cuts.”
News reports said that this scandal came to light in the past two days. The State Parks Director Ruth Coleman stepped down, and her deputy Michael Harris was fired. Coleman claimed she had no knowledge of the huge surplus.
Initially, State officials announced the impending closure of more than 70 parks, including the Mono Lake Tufa Reserve in Lee Vining. Those interested in keeping all park facilities open, launched a massive letter-writing campaign and then came up with a plan to charge for parking. Suddenly last month, park officials announced that most of the 70 parks set for closure would remain open.
According to news reports, the State Parks and Recreation fund held $20.4 million more than reported, and the Off-Highway Vehicle fund held $33.5 million more than reported. Officials called it an accounting error.
During efforts to save parks, details came out that many, if not most parks, actually make money or cost the State very little money.
The rabbit hole runs very Deep in the Gooog-Ol-Boy Network 🙂
As far as I can tell, they seemed to not know about these special funded ‘funds’….some reporters (not KSRW) are using inflamatory terms,like these funds were ‘hidden’ as if for some lurid purpose, As big al pointed out, they didn’t spend these funds or embezzle them. sounds like ‘finding’ them… Read more »
I can understand an “accounting oversight” of a few thousand $$ but $54 million? Something smells very bad about his and I hope our politicians will push for an independent accounting of this division and then pick another one randomly and do an audit to see what other departments/agencies are… Read more »
itsa liek when i hide money from my wife!!!
Remember this sordid little story when you vote on the tax increases in November.
also remember the little bullet train they funded.THIS MONTH
GGW
33.5 million in o.h.v. funds?….use some to open the roads!!!!!
It makes you wonder how many other agencies have surplus money that is hidden behind “accounting errors” while the average person struggles to survive.
I hope a grand jury is looking into this. This sounds like dirty politics.
I bet they were planning to embezzle that money!
They gave $600,000.00 of the Off-Highway fund to the Friends Of the Inyo to close our roads on our lands. The FOI was happy to apply for that grant to serve as puppets fortheir USFS masters. They have yet to admit publically how much their people get paid to close… Read more »
Truth,
I did find out from FOI that they pay workers out on the roads $15 to $19 per hour and that they advertised for the jobs in local papers and elsewhere. Paul McFarland indicated that very few are actually members of FOI.
Benett
Thanks for the Follow up Benett. Now FOI has to come clean on how much they are taking off the top for administration and how much of our fees Paul FOI member McFarland is taking personally for his road closing efforts.
Howdy there “Truth Seeker” – I make around 19.50 an hour without benefits. How about you? Each week I average at least a day to a day and half of unpaid volunteer time working to coordinate volunteer projects for the other work that needs to get done on the Forest… Read more »
Mr. Paul, As far as we know, “Truth Seeker” isn’t taking any green sticker tax monies to fund his “environmental” business. Why should he have to tell us what he makes? And before calling Truth Seeker out (by using real name), maybe your website should display all of its pictures,… Read more »
wow, 5 thumbs down for answering truthseekers questions honestly…I guess people aren’t interested in facts…
Great attempt a deflection Paul. If FOI is so proud of what they are doing in closing roads to their neighbors, why is there nothing about it on their web site? They should have pictires of you and your crew installing barriers all over Inyo and Mono counties. I am… Read more »
@ Jerry.
give them a break.. They wanted to save it for their Huge Public Pensions
Govt gone wild.
They should all be fired for the so called accounting Error.
Yup exactly, THEY wanted that money $$$ for their Fat Public Pensions and ya’ll would’ve paid for it 🙁
Yeah right Jerry lol .. they were hoarding it, not using it in the fiscal years, for what ever reason .. at the fiscal year end .. instead of spending what they had for the fiscal year’s budget all year, they kept it, rolled it over to the next year’s… Read more »