Report Cites Abuses by Former City Manager

Former City Manager Arthur C. Simonian ruled over City Hall almost unchecked, collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorized payments, boosting the salaries of friends and ordering staff to cover it up, according to a report by a special investigator.

Simonian, fired by the City Council in September but rehired by court order two months later, awarded himself more than $300,000 in benefits and extra compensation from 1987-98 without the City Council’s approval, according to the report, released Tuesday by Mayor John Gullixson.

Simonian also gave himself annual bonuses of up to $14,000 despite a warning by the city attorney that doing so was illegal, the report stated.

Vicki Baker, the city’s finance director from 1993-98, told investigators Simonian instructed her to withhold some benefits from his W-2 tax statements, including a leased 1997 BMW and $1-million life insurance policy he received at city expense. Simonian also ordered her to alter payroll documents given to the council, hiding his car expenses and the bonuses he granted to himself and his staff, she said.

Simonian’s attorney, Scott Kraft, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. In a Sept. 2 letter to the auditors, Kraft objected to the investigation as a violation of Simonian’s civil rights.

The City Council fired Simonian and sued to recover more than $300,000 in compensation he collected since 1984.

The Orange County district attorney’s office declined to prosecute and on Nov. 24, Orange County Superior Court Judge John C. Woolley ruled the council’s 3-2 vote to fire Simonian was improper. He ordered Simonian rehired.

Simonian will remain on administrative leave until the bitterly divided council can decide his fate. He will continue to collect his $142,000-a-year salary and other compensation in the meantime.