Modesto City Council appoints auditor

Watchdog, a Beyer grad, will be first not to work out of city clerk's office

By ADAM ASHTON
aashton@modbee.com

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The Modesto City Council on Tuesday hired its own "watchdog."

The council appointed Frank DeMattos as its first independent city auditor. DeMattos, a Beyer High School graduate, lives in Modesto and works for Stockton as its senior deputy city auditor.

Measure M, a government reform package voters passed in February, required the council to hire an auditor. In the past, the auditor has worked in the city clerk's office.

COUNCIL WATCH

The Modesto City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to:

� Allow the Public Works Department to buy up to $2 million worth of asphalt and paving equipment each year from Modesto-based George Reed Construction.

� Award a $237,700 contract to Clyde Wheeler Pipeline of Oakdale for work on a sewer system collection replacement project.

� Accept a $49,500 Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program grant.

� Assign a Modesto police officer to work at the Stanislaus County Office of Education's Petersen Alternative Center for Education. The SCOE is expected to pay half of the officer's salary.

Councilman Brad Hawn did not attend the meeting.
� Adam Ashton

DeMattos will leave his Stockton post and start work for Modesto later this month. He will earn $96,200 a year. He said the city needs an auditor because it is becoming increasingly complex as it grows.

He called himself a "watchdog" who would carry out the council's goal of making sure the city runs efficiently.

"Watchdogs do bite, but I like to think that watchdogs protect, as well," he said. "I'm not only the watchdog for the council, I'm a watchdog for the city employees and citizens of Modesto."

The council has implemented most of Measure M. Mayor Jim Ridenour has taken a lead role in writing the city budget, which the ballot measure encouraged. The council also adopted pay raises for public officials, another key point in Measure M.

The council's last significant task called for in Measure M is to write goals for each city department to be used to evaluate the performance of top executives.

In other business, the council approved 11-month contracts for two employee unions: the Modesto Confidential and Management Association and the Modesto Police and Fire Non-Sworn Association. The deals do not include pay raises, but they grant the employees an option to lower their health care costs.

The MCMA's contract also calls on the city to adopt pay raises for certain employees who earn below-market wages according to a recent salary survey.

Laurie Smith, the MCMA's president, said the union agreed to forgo raises this year in a spirit of cooperation with the city. The council is expected to cut $7 million to $9 million from its $122 million general fund because of an extended downturn in tax revenues.

"We look forward to returning to you with solutions that will ensure a healthy economic future for our members and for the city," Smith said.

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.