Job cuts on agenda for Assessor's Office

Official's college time draws fire

Author: Lauren McSherry, Staff Writer

Taxpayer Advocate Greg Eyler knows how to spend taxpayer money.

That's according to sources close to a grand jury investigation who say that Eyler, 32, a member of the San Bernardino County assessor's executive staff, was paid not to go to work while he attended college - an education that was partly funded with taxpayer dollars.

Eyler, however, takes issue with the allegation.

"I was never paid for time I was at school," Eyler said. "I tried to take all my classes outside county time. There were times I took off from work to attend classes. I wasn't paid for that time."

"Yes, he was," said one source who had reviewed Eyler's time cards and class schedule, adding that even if Eyler had used vacation and sick time, it was time wrongfully taken from the public he had been hired to serve.

Assessor Bill Postmus and former Assistant Assessor Adam Aleman approved spending nearly $1,000 for Eyler to take a course on European history and another on sociology at UC Riverside.

Eyler said the $1,000 was part of his contract.

"I've taken substantial loans out to go to UCR - $1,000 is a drop in the bucket," he said.

The grand jury report released June 30 faulted the county for paying for the college courses because the courses were unrelated to the duties of a taxpayer advocate.

Eyler, whose salary is nearly $65,000, said he recently earned his bachelor's degree in history with a minor in chemistry.

He said he had been considering becoming a history teacher, but more importantly, the degree was required to become a certified tax appraiser. Still, he worked in the post without a degree for more than a year.

Aleman, who was arrested and charged with six felonies, including falsifying documents and destroying evidence, used to approve Eyler's electronic time cards. Aleman resigned Tuesday.

Harlow Cameron, who has stepped in as acting assistant assessor, disagrees with the charge that Eyler used county time to attend school. Cameron said that at one point, Eyler had been given a reduced schedule until he earned his degree.

"He is paid only for the hours that he works," he said. "Presently, he is full time."

Cameron said part of Eyler's job involves meeting with the public outside of the office, accounting for reports that Eyler is rarely seen at work. Cameron said he is informed by Postmus when Eyler is working in the field.

Eyler said the job of taxpayer advocate entails writing speeches for Postmus, contributing to news releases and fielding questions from the public. Some of those tasks appear to overlap with the job held by the assessor's spokesman, Ted Lehrer, who earns a $73,000 salary.

The grand jury criticized the executive staff for spending too much of its time on Postmus' "public image" and projects peripheral to the office's main activities.

The grand jury investigation also found that the executive staff lacked experience and training directly related to property assessment.

Eyler, who was hired in January 2007, said he could not provide a resume showing his qualifications. He previously worked as a field representative for Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane and as the operations director for the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee.

Resumes are not required for unclassified employees, such as Eyler, although the employees are required to fill out a lengthy application, according to David Wert, county spokesman.