EDC leader cleans out her office

By Kathryn Reed

El Dorado County CAO Terri Daly this week moved all of her personal belongings out of her office.

Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Norma Santiago on Saturday morning was asked what this means.

“I’m not going to tell you. I’ll talk to you later. By,” Santiago told Lake Tahoe News before hanging up abruptly.

Terri Daly

Daly and Santiago are friends, with Santiago always coming to her defense.

But Daly has come under fire for months base on her handling of financial and contractual dealings within the county. She is responsible for taking a budget surplus and turning it into a $20 million deficit.

Daly earlier this year had a consultant look into how things were functioning. It came out that her office was one of the most dysfunctional. The El Dorado County Grand Jury in its report this year also called the county dysfunctional.

The board on its agendas has an ongoing item of “exposure to litigation” to be able to talk about Daly and Assistant CAO Kim Kerr, a source told Lake Tahoe News. But this could be a violation of the Brown Act because more of a description is required. Plus, any action taken in closed session must be reported out.

County Counsel Robyn Drivon when asked if Daly was fired, said, “No. There are rumors aplenty.” She would not, though, explain why Daly cleaned out her office, or if she quit.

If the board had fired Daly, she would have only gotten paid for three months. She has had a rolling three-month contract.

On Tuesday, county workers saw Kerr helping Daly carry boxes of personal items out of the building.

With Daly evidently gone, this would leave Kerr in charge. Her pedigree is no better than Daly’s. This column by Larry Weitzman spells out Kerr’s past.