The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors had a bad week in December.
First, the board’s clerk, Ana Wayman-Trujillo, submitted her letter of resignation on Dec. 14, alleging that she’d been subject to intolerable working conditions.
Seven days later, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said the board unlawfully transferred personnel and functions from the County Assessor’s office to a newly formed department that reports to the board.
The board’s action took root during budget preparations in early 2015 when supervisors were considering a proposal to transfer cartographers from the County Assessor, a state office, to Management Information Systems, a county department.
The move purportedly would have made more efficient use of the cartographers’ time.
Assessor Pam Pearsall instead proposed reorganizing her department and eliminating one position, which she said would save money. The position to be eliminated was held by Tina Bourdon, wife of County Administrator Phil Bourdon.
The Board of Supervisors decided to transfer the cartography division, as well as the property title division, to a newly created department, Geographic Information Systems.
In response, Pearsall sent a letter to Brnovich asking him to rescind the board’s decision. The letter was signed by 12 other county assessors. Pearsall said the two remaining assessors didn’t sign because they thought it was a waste of time and advised her to go directly to court.
The letter claimed the board violated state law and interfered with the Pearsall’s ability to do her job.
“We further believe that since the Board of Supervisors has no express powers to perform the statutory duties of the Assessor, it cannot delegate to this newly created department a power the board itself lacks,” the letter stated.
Brnovich agreed.
“The [Board of Supervisors] cannot remove cartography and property title personnel from the Assessor’s office without unlawfully divesting the Assessor of mapping and title functions that she is required to perform under state law,” he stated in a 13-page opinion issued Dec. 21 and addressed to Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.
“The Assessor can only fulfill her statutory duties by controlling the personnel who perform the functions necessary to those duties as well as the processes by which they perform those functions.”
Deputy County Attorney Jack Fields, who is also assistant county administrator, said the Attorney General’s opinion has some “oomph” to it, but it’s not binding on the board. “It’s advisory only. The Attorney General can’t compel the board to take any action.”
Fields said individual supervisors are looking at the opinion and will likely schedule a meeting on the matter soon. Polk will provide legal advice for the board.
District 3 Supervisor Chip Davis, whose district includes Sedona, the Village of Oak Creek, Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Jerome, did not return a message seeking comment on the Attorney General’s opinion or the resignation of Wayman-Trujillo.
It was alleged actions by Davis that Wayman-Trujillo cited in her claim of intolerable working conditions, including acts of retaliation.
She cited two examples in a letter to Board of Supervisors Chairman Craig Brown, county Human Resources Director Wendy Ross and Bourdon:
- At a Sept. 21 board meeting, “… Chip Davis’ public demeanor to me and offensive comments regarding the perception of being overworked was embarrassing, raised comment from several employees regarding Chip Davis’ abusive behavior toward employees and as I believe was a direct threat to intimidate me from performing my job duties as it directly related to an issue that he should be devoid of any participation in pursuant to conflict of interest laws.”
- In an Oct. 12 email response, Davis was “unprofessional, rude and did not accurately describe issues related and not related to the email. The email was not sent out as confidential and was sent to many others with the intent of public disclosure. The email was disturbing to at least two employees who intercepted the email and approached me as to their concerns regarding Chip Davis’ open hostility toward me.”
Saying that those were just two examples of many, Wayman-Trujillo attributed Davis’ actions to her disclosure of potential violations of open meeting laws and a board member’s conflict of interest, as well as possible inaccuracies and accounting violations by Coyote Springs Road Improvement District II and the Poquito Valley Road Improvement District.
Her letter does not directly name Davis as the board member with a potential conflict of interest, nor does she connect Davis to the alleged problems with the improvement districts.
The Board of Supervisors contracts with Improvement Districts Services Inc. for a variety of administrative services, such as accounting and banking, for several districts in the county, including the Big Park Domestic Wastewater Improvement District and the Red Rock Road Enhancement Maintenance District, both in the Village of Oak Creek.
Davis’ wife, Karen, was a founding officer and director of IDS in 1998. The couple was not married at the time.
Karen Davis vacated her positions as vice president and director in 2014, according to a filing with the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Davis reportedly has recused himself from board decisions involving IDS.
The Oct. 16 letter was Wayman-Trujillo’s notice of constructive discharge under Arizona law.
The county hired Phoenix lawyer James Jellison to evaluate the notice. After Wayman-Trujillo deferred many questions to her attorney during the second of two interviews, Jellison determined that information she provided was insufficient to show intolerable working conditions or unlawful retaliation.
Wayman-Trujillo’s lawyer is Samuel Randall, of Phoenix, who was out of the office for the holidays. His web page says he represents employees in a broad range of employment and labor law related issues, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.
Wayman-Trujillo submitted her letter of resignation Dec. 14, stating, “it has become increasingly apparent that the county has not resolved nor does it intend to resolve the issues that I have raised both in the notice and directly with county personnel.
“Rather, I have been retaliated against and the negative working conditions have become so intolerable — even to the point of negatively impacting my health — that I feel compelled to resign.”
Separately from Wayman-Trujillo’s constructive discharge claim, Fields said his office is looking into the allegations she made of potential violations of open meeting law and conflict of interest, as well has possible accounting irregularities. “We take these allegations seriously,” he said.
