Temecula Pays Fine for Violations of Fair Political Practices Commission Rules

The city of Temecula announced this week that it has settled an allegation made by the Fair Political Practices Commission that it violated certain regulations set up by the watchdog agency.

The issue?  The city sent out brochures for its 2013-14 theater season, which included a welcome letter from city council member and Temecula Community Services Commission President Jeff Comerchero, along with his photo, according to Temecula City Manager Aaron Adams.

According to Adams,  there is a regulation by the FPPC which prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used in items that are sent to 200 or more people or businesses, and features a letter or photo from an elected official.

“In our case, frankly we made a mistake," Adams told Temecula Patch, adding that the city promptly took the time to educate all staff members about the policy.

A new brochure was also made, and swapped out on the city's website, he said.

Because of the violation, the city agreed to pay a penalty of $2,000 for each of the two theater brochures that went out, according to Adams.

"The FPPC assessed this penalty in the low range of FPPC penalties for mass mailing violations based on the cooperation of the City and the change in the Theater Brochure to comply with the regulation," he said.