This is awful. I understand that the economy is in pretty bad shape, but this program is extremely efficient. It has great success rates, and although cutting corners is necessary, I think the Peer Court Program is as well.

Adding even more to the collapse of the labor force; equating to less money being spent; meaning no economic recovery. Cut those non-union managers; for every $100k position you cut, 3 clerical can keep their jobs.

Looks like John Mendes used his power to destroy the lives and careers of anyone who stood in his way. His latest top-heavy managment looks like a buffer zone of scapegoats for which he surrounded himself. Looks like it worked and he high-tailed it off into the sunset. It will be interesting to see if he doesn't land himself another cushy job when the dust settles on this fiasco.

And who will manage and serve the influx of reoffenders from the 35,000 prisoners they are going to release? Or do plan on just letting them slide through the crack because you lack clerks! Are we looking at the beginning of anarchy and chaos here?

Well, it`s either babying kids who break the law or saving several people`s jobs. I think hard working people come before the juvenile deliquents.

On the other topic: One of the members of the "top heavy" management at the court just got a promotion (with pay raise, of course). They are laughing all the way to the bank; gambling, wheeling and dealing with people`s lives. I bet it makes them grow an inch every day, knowing how "powerful they are"....what a joke!! They better be very prepared to be very busy helping the public...or they may just employ a bunch of temps, who don`t cost a dime in benefits and work for $8 bucks an hour!!! I bet Mr. Chatters won`t last very long at that place. To be the most disliked person in a building has got to mess with one`s ego!!

Opicat1 - Many juvenile offenders become very law-abiding citizens in their adulthood. The greatest loss this county faces is the loss of Karen Green and Judge Richard Couzen's Juvenile Peer Court. For half of what John Mendes pilfered out of the yearly budget, Peer Court could still be doing the wonderful service it has done for so many years for young adults. This was a very successful program and a shining star in the many fine works of Judge Couzens and his colleages. I am sad for him and the teenagers that will not have this option in the future.

Placer County Superior Court Clerks and clerks in counties all over California have been overworked for a very long time, but have found that in order to keep their jobs, they just deal with it, while they watch very inept administrative managers take home the big bucks and use each other to practice deeds that only now are starting to come to the light.

I don't know Mr. Chatters, but I can only imagine that he has inherited a huge mess and must not like the fact that he has to lay off so many employees. Perhaps laying off the accounting people that helped Mr. Mendes acquire his inordinate wealth without objection or questioning, would be an excellent place to start...they are, after all, responsible legally for doing anything immoral or illegal. Why aren't they being investigated. There's Government and Administrative law about these things!!!!

Observer, well said, the peer court is indeed a major loss. I don't envy Chatters and since I don't know him I can't even comment on him personally, suffice to say that he did indeed inherit a mess.

Why do they need so many Supervisors when the work force is being reduced? Has anyone stopped to think that it may be because of the quality of the hires? If you hire unqualified people it takes more of them to get the job done. But since personal adulation goes a long way in Placer County what does the ability to do the job has to do with anything, right?

Oh, and for those that will come out saying I don't know squat, well, I did know Mr. Mendes personally, I took a very big dislike of him the first time I met him and of all the people he hired I can categorically say that only one was capable to to his job without having to lick Mendes' boots. There's the answer to the "overpopulation" of Sups. When all you need is people agreeing with you the tendency is to hire as many as possible, works wonder for the ego.

Have a great Sunday

Observer , you make many thoughtful points. Now that you mention it Peer Court was a 'shining star'. I get a picture of what it was like to be these Superior Court clerks and inherit a mess.

skksks

Observer: I doubt if there's a cushy job in his future. If, as you say--I think it's correct BTW--he set in motion events that ruined people's lives, he may be looking at multiple civil suits.

Observer: opicat1 is another example of one who can't see past his/her nose.

In regards to Peer Court, If it would have been run correctly it would have been a very valuable program for the Juveniles. However, Karen Green didn't make any of the kids take it seriously. It was a joke to these kids. They should have been leaving feeling scared to ever have to go back or to never want to go to adult court. The Juveniles were allowed to show up in jeans, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, hats backwards, flip flops, mini skirts, ect. They would walk in chewing gum, eating fast food, talking on their cell phones, direspectful to staff, and talk and laugh throughout the whole night. This was just a forced social hour to them. They did not take it seriously in the least. When brought to the attention of Karen Green, she commented "well what am I supposed to do". Why weren't these kids forced to take a $100,000.00 a year program paid by tax payers seriously, beings it was a punishment for a crime or incident they committed. Why weren't they forced to where appropriate court attire? What are we teaching our youth if we allow them to dress for court the way Karen Green was allowing these teens. There was only a 5% effective success rate, the other percent took it as a forced waste of time. We should have been making these juveniles learn from their mistakes, not make them think that court is not a big deal and just a big fun playground. These kids new it was a joke. What a waste of money. Like I said, if run differently it would have been valuable.

Loomis - I also know Mr. Mendes and much, much more of what I speak of. It is almost eerie the way you describe how he hired people who are not capable of doing the job, because you hit the target on the head. John Mendes got rid of those who would not support his personal agenda and hired those who would, regardless of any knowledge and or experience that it takes to do the job correctly, much less be able to supervise it. Ask anyone in upper county management who has had to communicate with supervisors in the Court and they will tell you just how unintelligent (courtwise) and incapable they are.

If the State ever does their job and investigates this case thoroughly, they will see a picture which shows that every decision he has made in the last 5-7 years was completely calculated, by John Mendes, to benefit John Mendes and then perhaps his greater violations would come totally into the light.

The management situation is a joke. John Mendes created made up management positions that were not necessary. There are four managers per unit of 15 to 20 people in the courts. Not to mention a CEO, Assistant CEO, Deputy CEO, Operations Director, Assistant Operations Director, Two Admin Secrataries....its a joke, Placer County is not very big. The employees are very knowledgable and work hard with little supervision. Some of the management is needed, yes....but there is a lot of waste and too top heavy. Some managers just run a silent auction and take pictures of used items to sell to raise funds for the employee christmas party, or they are to act as court historian and collect pictures and info. If this is not a waste of tax payers dollars then I don't know what is. A lot of the management that was directly under John Mendes, that looked a blind eye to what he was doing, are still there running the show and getting promotions in a time when the court doesn't have money to pay the bills. All or most of the employees are willing to take mandatory furloughs, voluntary furloughs, or even give up several things that they worked hard for to keep their jobs. Placer County clerks do not make more or receive more lucrative benefits than other county courts. In fact, they receive less than a lot of other counties. And where were the Judges and AOC when all of this underhanded stuff was happening with Mr. Mendes? Tax payers should be furious by what is happening.

Peer court intentions were good, but it's impact on recidivism rates were negligible because the youth served were not likely to re-offend after first contact with system anyway. A review of Orange County's 9% study is self-explanatory. As far as Mendes, I hope an investigation has been started to find out what happened and how?

Darkranger1: I second that....looks like you have a "nose problem" as well, according to "steelybob". I wonder why the Juvenile Court is so overwhelmed with criminals if Peer Court is supposedly so great!?

Observer the employment practices you speak of in regards to Mr. Mendes are a commen indicater of corruption. Go to website for the Federal Bearuea of Investigation, Sacramento Division. Select #4 Public corruption. Then go the Index and read the story titled

The Crooked Reign of King Albert. Operation Greylord is also an interesting read. On that operation, 92 public officials where indighted on public corruption charges: 17 judges, 48 lawyers, 8 policement, 10 deputy sheriffs(sorry anaylyst), 8 court officials and one legistlater. And their is a place for people to send complaints about public corruption via the internet. I talked to them in person and they actually seem quite intelligent.

Dear Opticat and Dark Ranger1. First let me compliment your courage by using your real names. Ask the kid who got 100 hours of community service if it was a joke. Ask the kid who had to do a face to face apology with the manager of J.C. Penny's or Macy's if it was a joke. As the kid who had to pay a $75.00 tobacco fine if it was a joke. Ask the kid who had to pay for and take an anger management class if it was a joke. First time juvenile offenses are down except in Roseville where the School District opted out of the prevention program. Ask the parents who were ordered to parenting classes if it was a joke. Peer Court hearings were open to the public and while the spectators might have thought it was a joke, the defendants did not. Not using your real names is a joke.

Bluebird - Thank you for the information. I will check it out.

JonGreen - You know me, even if you havn't figured out who I am, and won't mind that I don't use my real name. I can not imagine anyone criticising the Peer Court program, something you know I was very supportive of and still am. You put in many hours with the program as well as your wife, Karen and Judge Couzens. It was a labor of love for all of you and I could see that you really cared about these young people. I have talked to kids who went through the program and heard that they learned valuable lessons, gained self- esteem and acquired the dignity to want to better themselves. Peer Court helped them to be accountable in a setting that was among their own. I think the dress code issue mentioned above was a petty statement

Lets take this a step further....the whole management top heavy system being utilized by Placer County - not just in the court system- needs to be investigated by the Grand Jury. Some departments have taken a 50% reduction in staffing yet not one of them were Program Managers and few were supervisors. What are our tax dollars paying for? For the county to provide services.....yet they will cut the staff doing the services and whine...'we don't have the staff to do the work'. If there is so much fewer staff,.....why need the sups and managers????

Grammie - Great point. Problem is, this is a sickness pervauding the entire planet...the rich, deceitful and powerful, bathed in greed and entitlement, sucking off the average person and the "least of them." They mock the rest of us...but guess who will have the last laugh??

Sorry - The law, ever so conveniently written, allows the investigation of everyone EXCEPT the Courts. Thank God, there is a God, who sees and judges everything. Justice will prevail in the end. I have more hope for those who get caught and get their penalties here...

@darkranger1, the peer court program must have cost a lot more because I have heard that Karen Green was making approximately $17,000.00 per MONTH. Maybe that is money well spent but it seems very high for the work that she performed. In comparison, look at the salaries of some of the executives that run Placer County and you will find her salary is much higher. The $100,000 amount cut by the court doesn't even cover 1/2 of her salary. What did the rest of the program cost? How was the taxpayer's money spent on this program? Can we spend this money is a better way and get a better result? Does this program need to have a full audit done like the court?

People who manage public money must be accountable for how it is spent. Do not take these questions personal, this is the public's money and we have a right to ask these questions. Also if someone is going to ask for donations, where is the money going to go?

Why don't the parents have to pay for the peer court for their children? Why is this a "For Profit" program? How reliable are your numbers auburn49er? For some reason I suspect you're correct.

Since the Court Administrator works under the Judge's, where was the local bench when this guy was giving himself a raise? He was making more that the Presiding Judge and that's just crazy!

The court needs to evaluate and investigate the staff that has been surrounding Mendes. Not only the courts, but schools, cities and county management has gotten bigger and when a huge economic crisis has come down, very little has effected them, their income or their lives. Not one management job was cut, even though the management staff has tripled over the last four years. It would seem that it would only make sence being that the average person they layed off makes less than half the salary of management.

When the court gave out the 40 layoff notices on Monday, they effected 40 families and their ability to keep their homes and feed their children. I think Mr. Chatters made a knee-jerk-reaction to slice the working class and did not look at sharing some of those cuts with his fellow management team. Wheels of justice will come to a hault as the lack of qualified court personnel is exposed. If Mr. Chatters wants to show he know what he is doing, he will bring back some of the personnel that was layed off and lay off some of the fat in the management!!

The information is accurate as far as know and has been the topic of many wondering conversations. Budget information is available to be requested regarding public funds from Placer County Probation, Auditor's, etc. The information is available for county salaries on the Placer County Webpage. The questions really need to be addressed because we cannot keep spending money we don't have on things that may or may not work.

Unfair2U - If you have ideas or suggestions on how to cut $4 million from the budget without laying people off you should submit them for consideration instead of taking potshots at someone who is trying to clean up a mess that languished for years. Do you really think cutting $4M dollars was a knee-jerk reaction? I understand your frustration and concern for the staff and their families but your assertion is a knee-jerk reaction. Don't shoot the messenger.

There have been several suggestions submitted by employees and the union to the people in charge, including furloughs, early retirement, no salary increases, court closure days. All suggestions have been dismissed without explanation. Having Mr. Mendes re-pay the money he stole would contribute as well, but the amount of more than $400,000 is not significant enough for certain people. Laying of a couple of managers and cutting their pay and benefits would also contribute. As well, maybe the AOC should lay off some people instead of continuing to hire. God only knows how much they make.

The new CEO has chosen to take this job, and to make him look like the "good guy" who is trying to help the court is slightly distorted and an insult to the court employee`s intelligence. Besides, he is being compensated very well, so I bet he is not suffering too much.

The total budget and income for the Peer Court Program was $180,000.00 per year. Peer Court was run by a private company called Connections. Connection had a staff of six people including Karen Green. We received approximately $17,000 per month. Karen Green's take out of this was about $35,000.00 a year. Connections like all small business had expenses like rent, office supply, payroll, insurance, automobile expense, printing and reproduction, etc. The bottom line is Connections processed cases at $400.00 per case and it will cost the government $4000.00 per case to do the same work. Auburn49er get your facts straight. You are welcome to look at our budget.

Again, as stated previously, "Do not take these questions personal, this is the public's money and we have a right to ask these questions. Also if someone is going to ask for donations, where is the money going to go?" The fact of the $17,000 per month she makes is correct, and this is a for profit Peer Court. The $17,000 per month is being made, as you stated, this equates to more then $180,000 and makes a taxpayer reflect on the very same "mendes math" that was the topic of this article. Again, public money allows the public to ask questions not just hand out money to a private business, no matter the cost. If you don't like the questions, don't take the public money.

Auburn49er, What don't understand? Placer County Probation and the Placer County Superior Court paid a for profit business to run the Peer Court Program. Connections had a contract with these folks that specified the work that would be done. Connections did the work tens time cheaper than the county or the court could do it. Connections was paid $17,000.00 per month. We did not make $17,000.00 per month. Where are you getting your facts. Let me know if you want to see our company's budget. Have you ever run a small business? When you buy a car does the dealer "make" all the money you paid for the car? Have you been to the Peer Court Website? Please get informed or be willing to be informed. We are asking for financial support from the community not donations. Read Judge Cousens article to understand the collaborative group that oversees Peer Court.

I guess it`s more important, still, to save this worthless program rather than trying to save 40 jobs lost come Monday, August 3rd.

I find it extremely disappointing that the Auburn Journal did not follow up on this outrageous situation. The people of Place county will be in for a very rude awakening. I suppose 40 jobs is not a lot to some people, well, they better not ever decide to get divorced, sue somebody, their license reinstated, copies of their records or help over the phone or in person, just to name a few. Good luck and lots of patience.

The impact of this insane decision is far greater than the loss of peer court could ever be. And Jon Green, you don`t need to comment, I am not interested in your "superior" knowledge.

Do you have a real name opicat1? It is cowardly to not stand behind your opinions. Do you understand the basis of a collaborative justice court and the money and jobs it can save? My knowledge is not superior just based on real verifiable data not the emotional opinions of an uninformed, hidden blogger. What data do you have to make the claim that Peer Court is a worthless program? Post that data or you are a fraud.

LOL!! Dude, what do you want my name for? Are you planning on coming to find where I live and work? Are you a freak? What if my name is Jennifer Jones? Why are you so personally offended?? Jon Green, huh? Very unique name, I have to say. I bet there is probably only one of you out there in the world. If you are unable to tolerate someone else`s opinion, maybe you should not interact with people in person or in any other manner. Sounds like you need anger management classes. Ask the people who work in the juvenile probation department, group homes and boot camps what good peer court did for their "clients".

Maybe you should be talking to people instead of a computer and get your precious data updated. I actually made a bet with some people that you can`t wait to see if somebody responded to your postings....well, unfortunately we have to part ways now....maybe you can find another person to talk to you....By the way, you better not threaten me again, I am a minor.

Where is your data? I rest my case, you are a fraud. Did I make a threat? I don't mind opinions based on data. Opinions not based on data don't count. Were you a peer court defendant? Live in a group home? Participate in boot camp, work for probation? You can find me in the phone book. I'm not afraid to state my opinions using my real name. Or to discuss my opinions in public. Why don't you go to the Peer Court web site and learn something about the program and what it did.

Opicat1, If you knew anything about Peer Court, you would know who I am.