Calaveras County Collusion, Conflicts of Interest & Cronyism

October 3, 2023 - Christopher Buttner’s General Public Comments to the City of Angels Camp City Council regarding the executed amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau. Part 1. 

"My name is Christopher Buttner.

On September 4, 2023, I submitted a public records act request to the City Attorney, White Brenner LLP, for the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM entered into between the "City of Angels," a municipal corporation, and the Calaveras Visitors Bureau, a "non-profit association," authorized by resolution 23-02 unanimously approved by the City Council on January 3, 2023.

On September 14, 2023, I was informed by the City Attorney that the City had determined that my request described identifiable records that were disclosable under the public records act, and I was provided with a digital copy of the City Council’s executed resolution number 23-02.

I was additionally informed on that date by the City Attorney that the City was still searching its files responsive to my request for the signed tourism agreement, and required as much as an additional fourteen days to conduct its search.

On Sept. 27, 2023, I was informed by the City Attorney that the City did not have any additional records responsive to my public records act request dated Sept. 4, 2023, for the executed AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM.

Quoting the City Attorney, “After a thorough search, staff is unable to locate the executed agreement.”

I respectfully request of this City Council that the City resumes and successfully concludes its search for the missing AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM so that my public records act request dated Sept. 4, 2023, for identifiable records that were disclosable under the public records act, may be fulfilled in a timely manner.

To that point, I shall plan to return to the next City Council meeting two weeks from this evening, on October 17, to address this in greater detail should my Sept. 4, 2023, public records act request for the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM not have been met by that time.

Thank you and good evening."

Click Here to Return to Video Index at Top of Page.

October 17, 2023 - Christopher Buttner’s General Public Comments to the City of Angels Camp City Council regarding the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM with the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau. Part 2. 

"My name is Christopher Buttner.

I appeared before this City Council on October 3rd, respectfully requesting the City of Angels resume – and successfully conclude – its search for the missing January 3, 2023, executed amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the Calaveras Visitors Bureau (hereinafter referred to as ‘the CVB’), so that my Public Records Act request dated Sept. 4, 2023, for identifiable records that were disclosable under the California Public Records Act, may be fulfilled in a timely manner.

The City of Angels’ administrative challenges with record-keeping processes, in this instance specific to the missing January 3, 2023, executed amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism, has disrupted the timeline of my fact finding and evidence discovery process.

It is essential that each of you understand my intention is non-hostile; that I bear no ill-will toward the City despite the lengthy delay in producing for me an identifiable record that the City had determined to be disclosable under the California Public Records Act.

To eradicate any misconceptions by this City Council and its administration, the CVB is definitely not a “non-profit association.” The CVB is a nonprofit corporation, not a “non-profit association.”

The CVB intentionally converted its legal entity type with the State Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State’s Office, from a “Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation” to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” effective July 12, 2021.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” had failed for over two years to officially notify the City of Angels of its conversion of its legal entity type from a “Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation” to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” effective July 12, 2021.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been operating illegally since July 12, 2021, without valid bylaws.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been deceiving the public since July 12, 2021, as evidenced by displaying invalid bylaws on its website and purporting these invalid bylaws to be current and valid.

It is alleged that the CVB committed fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type by falsely entering into an amended Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism with the City of Angels on  July 1, 2019 and again on January 3, 2023.  

This alleged scandal exhibits disturbing parallels to the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority Joint Powers Agreement scandal that rocked neighboring Tuolumne County in 2018 and took over four years to resolve, pitting the City of Sonora’s government, Tuolumne County’s government, and the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority against each other, leading to the dissolution of the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority at great public expense.

These allegations regrettably jeopardize the City of Angels’ administration by drawing it into an expanding scandal that also includes the Calaveras County government having been similarly duped by the CVB on August 22, 2023, when it entered into a formal contractual Tourism Promotion Agreement, with the CVB claiming its legal entity type to be a “California non-profit public benefit corporation.” 

On October 10th, I received an email with an attached two-page document from the City Attorney’s office. That email notified me, “I do apologize for the delay in providing you with these records. Please be assured that this was an unusual occurrence, staff have looked into the issue, and it is not the City’s intent to obstruct transparency or prevent disclosure of its public records.”

That attached document I received on October 10 from the City Attorney’s office was, unfortunately, an obviously altered official government record – a re-creation – and also was not fully executed as it lacked the signature of the President of the Board of Directors of the CVB.

I shall plan to return to your next City Council meeting three weeks from this evening, on November 7, to more fully address allegations of the CVB’s fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type.

Thank you and good evening."

Click Here to Return to Video Index at Top of Page.

November 7, 2023 - Christopher Buttner’s General Public Comments to the City of Angels Camp City Council regarding the executed amended AGREEMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURISM with the Calaveras County Visitors Bureau. Part 3. 

"My name is Christopher Buttner.

I’ve appeared twice before this City Council, on October 3rd and again on October 17th.

My appearances have been regarding Public Records Act requests for the July 1, 2019, and January 3, 2023, executed amended Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism with the Calaveras Visitors Bureau (hereinafter referred to as ‘the CVB’), for identifiable records that were disclosable under the California Public Records Act.

We’ve already established with certainty that the City of Angels has had administrative challenges with its record-keeping processes for over four years, this statement being valid with specificity to the missing executed amended Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism from July 1, 2019, and January 3, 2023.

In September 2023, upon its continuing inability to locate the missing executed amended Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism from January 3, 2023, the City administration endeavored to recreate the document and obtain the required signatures to enact the terms of the contract.

To eradicate any misconceptions by this City Council and its administration, the CVB is definitely not a non-profit association. The CVB is a Mutual Benefit nonprofit corporation.

The CVB formally initiated the conversion of its legal entity type by having sought consent from the State Attorney General’s Office in April 2021, and then, upon receiving that requested consent, the CVB formally completed its conversion of its legal entity type with the Secretary of State’s Office.

The CVB’s conversion from a “Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation” to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” became effective with the Secretary of State’s July 12, 2021, filing date.

It is imperative that the city administration understand that at no time during the timeframe by which the July 1, 2019, and January 3, 2023, Agreements for the Promotion of Tourism have been understood to have been in effect, has the CVB ever been a nonprofit association, despite having been stated so in the Agreements.

The CVB’s representative and signatory to the most recent Agreement, CVB Executive Director Martin Huberty, falsely affirmed the CVB’s legal entity type on that September 2023 Agreement as a nonprofit association.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” had failed for over two years to officially notify the City of Angels of its conversion of its legal entity type to a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” effective July 12, 2021.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been operating illegally since July 12, 2021, without valid bylaws.

It is alleged that the CVB, a “Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation,” has been visibly and persistently deceiving the public for whom it was purported to be of benefit, since July 12, 2021, as evidenced by it still displaying invalid bylaws on its website as I address herein, the CVB purporting these invalid bylaws to be current and valid. They are not.

It is alleged that the CVB committed fraudulent misrepresentation of its legal entity type by falsely entering into the January 3, 2023, Agreement for the Promotion of Tourism, formally executed with the City of Angels on September 18, 2023.

These allegations regrettably jeopardize the City of Angels’ administration by drawing it into an expanding scandal that also includes the Calaveras County government having been similarly duped by the CVB on August 22, 2023, when it entered into a formal contractual Tourism Promotion Agreement, with the CVB claiming its legal entity type to be a “California nonprofit public benefit corporation.” 

Thank you and good evening."

Click Here to Return to Video Index at Top of Page.

Click here to go to Page 3 - Additional Video Statements on Calaveras County Government Corruption Page