01/23/2025 9:43 a.m. The story was updated to include the charge against Paula Kennedy.
Mendocino County CEO Darcy Antle and Human Resources Director Cherie Johnson testified Wednesday in the criminal case against Chamise Cubbison, the county’s elected auditor-controller and treasurer-tax collector. Cubbison is accused of criminal misappropriation of funds, specifically authorizing payroll manager Paula Kennedy to compensate herself for overtime despite being classified as an exempt employee ineligible for such payments. Kennedy is on trial for the same charge.
Both Cubbison and Kennedy have denied the charge, with Kennedy claiming that she was authorized to pay herself with the 470 code by Cubbison.
During her testimony, Antle described the strain on the small payroll department, which handles 1,200 employees and hundreds of pay codes. She acknowledged Kennedy’s excessive workload.
“It’s not healthy,” Antle said. “It’s almost illegal to have somebody working that many hours when they’re only paid for eight a day.”
Antle testified that she had proposed additional support for Kennedy and suggested moving payroll from the auditor-controller’s office to the executive office. She recounted a contentious meeting where Kennedy opposed the move, describing her as “angry” and resistant to the proposed changes.
Cubbison also opposed moving payroll to the executive office, arguing that the office lacked the necessary qualifications.
Johnson testified that Kennedy used an obscure pay code for miscellaneous payments, labeled 470, to pay herself overtime from October 2019 to August 2022. The payments were below $1,000 — an amount that would have triggered scrutiny.
However, Johnson also said there were no specific policies or guidelines around how the 470 pay code was to be used.
Testimony in the case continues Thursday in Mendocino County Superior Court.
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