A Yucca Valley Town Council member has called allegations of willful misconduct “ludicrous” in response to a demand by recall proponents to fire the town manager. Recall spokesman Ron Cohen sent a letter to Z107.7 News in which he charges Mark Nuaimi engaged in willful misconduct, giving the following examples: that he established a sell-back policy for vacation and sick leave; that he closed Town offices on Fridays and over lunch hour; that he attends Hi-Desert Water District meetings as a Town representative; that car allowances are used to pad employee salaries; and that he promises to dedicate any increase in transient occupancy tax solely to help hotels pay for future sewer connections. Council Member Dawn Rowe responded: “These charges are ludicrous and … were council actions (or legitimate actions taken per the job description of the town manager). The allegations raised by Mr. Cohen are the latest in a series of efforts to smear the Town Manager’s reputation and attack the Town Council. All these allegations are readily refuted. Mr. Cohen has been provided specific information pertaining to at least one of these allegations and he has either chosen to ignore it, or just doesn’t understand it.” Mark Nuaimi provided the following response in an e-mail to Z107.7: “I have and continue to take my direction from the Town Council and I will continue to carry out my responsibilities as Town Manager for as long as I am blessed to be part of this organization.”
