Red Words

The City Council last week stripped troubled City Treasurer Mike Reynolds' of his authority to sign city checks.

The council took the same action in regard to assistant city treasurer Debbie Myers and another Redlands employee, Peggy McVey. The council transferred the authority to sign checks and warrants to Finance Director Tina Kundig, assistant finance director Thomas Steele and interim revenue manager Judy Jacobson.

The action was taken at the Jan. 15 council meeting when council members approved what it is called the consent calendar, which is usually a handful of routine decisions.

Reynolds did not return a phone call or e-mail seeking comment for this blog. Reynolds was arrested in October on suspicion of misappropriation of public funds and two related charges. He pleaded innocent to all charges last month in San Bernardino Superior Court and his next scheduled court appearance is set for Feb. 13.

Reynolds has not been accused of stealing city funds, instead, prosecutors have alleged that he mishandled public money. The charges stem from a check worth nearly $38,000 that Reynolds deposited with Bank of America in mid-September. The essence of the charges is that Reynolds sought to cover up a shortage in the the city's petty cash fund.

Patrick Milligan, Reynolds' defense attorney, has countered that Reynolds acted properly. Milligan has put forth that Reynolds wrote the check to transfer money from an account under the Treasurer's Office's control to the city's general fund to ensure that Redlands would not miss out on funds while he conducted an internal investigation into a shortage in the petty cash fund.

Reynolds and his attorney have both acknowledged that the city's petty cash account was out of whack at the time of Reynolds' arrest.