By Investigative Reporter, Linda Sutter – May 3, 2023
It was during the last 5 minutes of the city council meeting on Monday, May 1, 2023, when Blake Inscore spilled the beans. The Tri-Agency voted to take another $110,000 from taxpayers to support a defunct Tri-Agency.
Remember in October 2022, the Tri-Agency which consists of the City Council, The Board of Supervisors, and The Crescent City Harbor District, voted to take $290,000 of Taxpayer funds to bail them out from owing the USDA the money for failed businesses?
The Tri-Agency literally closed their doors in 2012 because they had no money. Since that time the Tri-Agency not only was a defunct agency owing the Federal Government, but could not pay any of their bills resulting in the hijacking of their website “Tri-Agency.com”.
The board members of the Tri-Agency are Wes White, and Brian Stone from the Harbor District, Chris Howard and Darrin Short from the Board of Supervisors, Blake Inscore and Jason Greenough from the City Council.
The County Counsel Joel Campbell has been giving free attorney services for the last two years. The Tri-Agency is in violation of SB272 catalog of enterprise system. The Tri-Agency continually violates the Brown Act, has no office, no Director, and will not be able to obtain any loans from USDA or the United States Department of Commerce due to their negligence for 10 years in paying off their debts.
The Tri-Agency has no business plan, objectives, or purpose other than to take Taxpayer funds in the worst economic times this county as well as this nation is currently facing.
Additionally, The Harbor District allegedly lost over $73,000 of Taxpayer funds through embezzlement and willful misappropriation of funds while allowing their former Harbor Master Charlie Helms and Current Harbormaster, Tim Petrick, to utilize the Harbor District credit cards for excessive expenditures. Yet the board of Supervisors and City Council refuse to acknowledge the Harbor Districts inability to have their finances in order.
The Tri-Agency has talked about getting the Tribes involved in their failed adventure; however, the Tribes are smarter than that.
At this point and time, it will be necessary for the People of Del Norte County to place an initiative on the November 2024 ballot to prevent the Defunct Tri-Agency from inappropriately misusing taxpayers funds and to dissolve the Tri-Agency in order to prevent continuous bailouts by the taxpayers of Del Norte County.
Is Tri-Agency simply a vehicle for our local white collar crime group to launder money? In California, the rule of law has been abandoned, especially if the State gets their cut of the action. With a local government that is not accountable to any laws, “officials” can erase any amount of money from the public coffers without fear. The fat, dumb and lazy citizens of Del Norte County certainly do not seem to care. A Republic based on participatory Democracy requires an informed public, education and active involvement in order to function. Otherwise, It becomes a den of vipers who erase basic human rights and loot the public treasury. In Del Norte County the citizens are asleep at the wheel. I lose more respect for the people of this community with every year, month and day that goes by.
Sadly it is true our residents in del Norte County are pretty apathetic. And it is a hard pill to swallow that a population of 28,000 has less than 1/2 as registered voters. And less than half the registered voters at any one time actually perform their civic duty.
Today 3 Supervisors voted to use public money once again for a failed Tri-Agency of 11 years. Nothing will change and the mistake will be made again that was made before because a majority of them have not taken the time to understand and read the history behind Tri-Agency.
Joey Borges and Valerie Starkey were the only sensible votes today. They voted against The Tri-Agency. In March 2024 Voters can vote out those who continue to use public money for their own self overinflated do nothing egos. The Three that voted this tragedy in provided no input on new bylaws, no input on policy and procedures, no input on how their empty words will fulfill the mandated requirements of this failed agency. But they boast how much money this will bring to the community during the worse economic times of America.