Seaside City Council votes to freeze member spending amid controversy

The Seaside City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to freeze all city councilmember expenditures effective immediately.

The freeze means councilmembers will not be able to make purchases themselves on behalf of the city using municipal funds. Seaside City Attorney Don Freeman says councilmembers with city credit cards must return them.

On top of the freeze, the council also authorized funding for a forensic audit of councilmembers’ past spending. The audit will be looking into records from July 2015 to the present, and Freeman says this will help better account for the spending that has happened. Freeman says he intends to make the audit findings public.

“Because there has been a question regarding the expenditures of members of the city council, what I’m asking for this evening is to do a forensic audit to ensure the integrity of the expenditures today,” said Freeman.

The decision to freeze expenditures comes as Councilmember Kayla Jones is facing criticism for what some have called an improper use of city funds. She is now facing an investigation into that spending, as well as a probe by California’s Fair Political Practices Commission.

Jones was mostly poised throughout the meeting that saw a couple residents complain directly to her about her alleged spending abuses and campaign controversies.

“Miss Jones did not file her required campaign papers in a timely manner even though she has been repeatedly reminded by the city clerk,” said one woman during the public comment period at the city council meeting on Thursday. “Now she points her finger at the city clerk, alleging that (the clerk) lost the paperwork.”

Jones has also accused some members of the council of sexual harassment. The council voted to launch an investigation into those claims as well.

Jones declined an interview request by KION on Thursday. Her husband, Ryan Gibson — who was recently arrested on domestic violence charges — was also present at the meeting. Jones has defended Gibson and their relationship.