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Cal Fire hid $3.6 million from state

January 27, 2013

cal fireThe California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection hid $3.6 million rather than depositing it into the state’s cash-strapped general fund as required. [LATimes]

For seven years, Cal Fire paid the nonprofit California District Attorneys Assn. to hold settlement monies. Cal Fire would use the cash for equipment purchases and training.

The money came from legal settlements. The Legislature established the agency’s civil cost recovery program to force those responsible for starting a fire to pay the costs of putting out the blaze, the LA Times said.

Cal Fire’s own regulations state that the proceeds of such settlements go to the state’s general fund.

Nevertheless, Cal Fire established the fund with the district attorney’s association in 2005. The association charged a fee to hold the money that changed over the years. When it began, the prosecutors received 3 percent of the money when it came in and 15 percent when Cal Fire pulled money out for training or equipment.

 


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@ BeenThere: MaryMalone is right. You have turned it political rather than direct outrage againt against the behavior itself. If you read the LA Times article this activity started over 7 years ago. Under which Governor you ask? Let me think … Oh that would Schwartzneggar the “maid diddiler”


Kudos to the current Gov or whoever gave the go ahead to audit and expose this money laundering scheme.


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First I say go back and read my reply to Mary. Didn’t make it anything.


Second the Gov. doesn’t appropriate the money to be spent. Hmm who does Tacoma? Oh yea that’s right the legislature. Do you wanna go there?


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Each and EVERY person who is paying the new Fire tax, should file a suit against the state. Yes I know that sueing a Gov. agency and winning doesn’t mean you may get paid but still.


Second to EACH AND EVERY person who has beat up conservatives over their non liking of taxes, here, like the parks department last year, is yet ANOTHER example of why conservatives don’t trust Gov. with the peoples money.


WAKE UP PEOPLE and STOP voting to give Gov. your money to throw away.


Typical statement by the people, “but the Gov. will use it for things I need.” YEAH RIGHT!!!!


You know the old joke, how do you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving.


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You completely ruined your own argument when you tried to make it a divisive, conservative-vs-liberal issue.


No one supports wasteful government spending, and certainly no one supports government agencies hiding money. Those kinds of accounts, especially the way CalFire did it, are basically nothing more than great, big, unaccountable SLUSH FUNDS from which CalFire leadership can use taxpayer money as their own private piggy-bank, completely without accountability.


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Mary I didn’t make it anything. I stated a fact. Look at voting records.


And I never made it vs liberals as you state. I implied that conservatives by and large don’t like taxes. True? I implied that conservatives take flak for not liking taxes. True? Don’t know what else to tell you Mary.


And last let me save you your comment back that I implied what you said. No you did.


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“No one supports wasteful government spending?” I think to the contrary. If that were true the people would stand up and do something about it. The support of crimes like these is that there is such an abundance of corruption within our governments that actions like this have become the norm. The reality is that no body cares.


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I believe the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is filing a lawsuit over this fire tax.


SL OProperty & Business Owners Assn. is having their rep, Jon Coupal, speak at their meeting Feb. 21at Cafe Roma SLO. . I imagine he will be discussing this. http://www.slopboa.org for more information.


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A while back didn’t some local Fire Chief make a statement that if their contract was not met, people would die. – that is why i have a sprinkler system in my home


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This was the San Luis Obispo City FF’s union.


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They should be fired if they really did say that.


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I think the statement was something about burning up the Coon Creek hiking trail if they didn’t get their way…or maybe that’s just what they did….whatever.


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So according to the LA Times link/story the District Attorneys Association was charging a percentage to shelter Cal Fire settlement monies in one of their accounts. In a sense, isnt this a litlle like money laundering?


Are there any public officials and politicians who have ethics?


Really what is it going to take to demand our leaders act ethically? Is our country going to have to resort to what the Egyptian, Libyan and Syrian people have had to do in an effort to stop corruption?


At a minimum there should be some job terminations behind this. I would go so far as to suggest a criminal investigation but does anyone thing that the District Attorneys Association would support a thorough investigation? The probability of that is likely the same as a snowballs chance in hell.


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Another government slaughter of the sheeple.


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Another big nothing by government. Nothing comes of these stories because everyone is way to placent and no one wants to get involved. I read an article this morning about “Military Diversity Matrix” as proposed by Nancy Pelosi an Harry Reid in 2009. Enough said!


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Hey baby, who do you trust.


I would anticipate that a few promotions at CDF will put this one to sleep.


Just business as usual.


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Heads need to roll. But they wont…:(


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I want my tax money back they raped me for on their bogus fee.


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