CLAYTON, CA (July 18, 2025) — The City Council voted 4-1 to ignore most of the Civil Grand Jury’s report critical of city governance – after Councilmember Holly Tillman and several residents objected to the dismissive tone of the response at a special meeting on June 24.

The Council’s response calls out the Grand Jury for “the magnitude of errors, omissions and misrepresentation of information.” Vice Mayor Jeff Wan said the letter was “a joint effort” of an ad hoc committee comprised of Mayor Kim Trupiano and himself, along with city manager Kris Lofthus and city attorney Malathy Subramanian.

Saying it was “unprofessional” and “snarky,” Tillman asked the council to soften the wording. “This comes across as someone having a fit because they didn’t get their way.”

To which Wan responded: “The problem is not the nature of the response; it’s that the actual report itself is deeply and fatally flawed.”

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‘Small City, Big ­Concerns’

The report from the Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury, titled “Clayton: Small City, Big Concerns,” cites high staff turnover, problems with agenda setting policy, lack of financial management and committee inconsistencies. The council majority disputes most of the findings.
In bold below are the city’s responses to the Grand Jury’s specific recommendations to be completed by Dec. 1:

• Create a new process for councilmembers to request agenda items: Not warranted.
• Maintain a public list of all agenda item requests and their status: Not warranted.
• Require committees to post meeting minutes online: Not warranted.
• Ensure that public comment on non-agenda items is available at all regular meetings: Already implemented.
• Enforce council rules that prevent committees from taking unauthorized actions: Not warranted.
• Investigate the reasons behind high staff turnover: Not warranted.
• Explore revenue-generating measures to address the deficit. Already implemented.
• Follow established rules when appointing members to financial oversight committees: Already implemented.

Councilmember ­interviews

Four sitting councilmembers and then Councilmember Peter Cloven appeared individually before the Grand Jury last fall, before Councilmember Rich Enea was elected.

All four current councilmember said their statements were not included in the report – leading Trupiano, Wan and Councilmember Jim Diaz to wonder if the Grand Jury had an agenda.

“I do feel like in the first interview they were trying to get the lay of the land,” said Trupiano. “By the second and third interviews, their mind was already made up.”

Tillman defended the Grand Jury’s conclusions. “I don’t think that they just made things up,” she said. “I know that the questions that I was asked aren’t in there either, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t thorough.”

In a statement posted online, Cloven blasted the council’s response and offered another explanation for why their statements were omitted: “Could it be that the Grand Jury – after months of investigation, including interviews, reviewing transcripts and consulting subject matter experts – found compelling evidence that outweighed their individual accounts?

“So, the question becomes,” Cloven continued, “do we believe the findings of a nine-month, citizen-led investigation? Or do we buy into the idea that a respected Grand Jury engaged in a biased conspiracy to bring down a small city government?”

More calls for review of turnover

Tillman and several speakers once again asked the council to look into staff turnover. “Positions are filled now, but I do think that we have a history of turnover on the third floor and I think it’s important for us to understand why this is happening,” Tillman told her fellow councilmembers.

Ed Miller was among the residents seeking clarification on staffing issues. “You’re not addressing that this problem is ongoing. I think it’s valuable for it to be investigated and studied because your staff will appreciate that you’re taking the time to find out why they’re not sticking around,” he said.

However, Brian Mayhew, who said he has 40 years of local government experience, downplayed the report’s focus on high turnover. “If I had gotten this report, I’d send them a thank you for saying the worst problem we have is high turnover. Every government, every city, every police department in the county – all the counties – is having hiring problems,” he said.

But he agreed with others about the tone of the city’s letter. “I think at least in the preambles, it’s a little bit defensive and a little bit aggressive, and I don’t think it needs to be.”

In the end, the council majority agreed to make only two minor grammatical changes to the letter, disappointing speakers like Janet Evans. “I’m not used to seeing the kind of dysfunction that I see in city government,” the 30-year resident told the council. “I sincerely hope that you have the courage to actually pay attention to these findings.”

Tillman, the lone dissenter on the council, plans to send her own response to the Grand Jury.

Find the Civil Grand Jury report at https://tinyurl.com/3t3c9zf9 and the city’s response in the June 24 agenda packet at claytonca.gov.