City manager says treasurer misstated bond refinance and banking discussions; staff will explore account options

City Manager Alexander Nguyen issued two public clarifications at the start of the Nov. 3, 2025 City Council meeting, alleging City Treasurer Phil Molina misstated what had been presented about a recent bond refinancing and misrepresented staff activity to a Bank of America account manager.

Nguyen said his first clarification concerns statements Molina sent in an email that claimed the city’s chief financial officer did not say whether refinancing had extended the payoff date for outstanding bonds. Nguyen said Finance and Governance Committee materials and the discussion before the full council both showed the refinancing did not extend the bonds’ final maturity and that the new and existing bonds were scheduled to end at the same time.

Nguyen said his second clarification relates to an early-October exchange between Molina and the city’s Bank of America account manager. Nguyen said Molina told the account manager that Nguyen had raised concerns to the council and that the city had received cost comparisons from other banks. The account manager contacted Nguyen, who said he had not solicited or received such comparisons and asked bank staff to confirm statements attributed to Molina.

The clarifications followed a brief council discussion in which Council member Aaron Starr described negotiating bank terms and suggested the city could seek interest income on balances. Starr said his employer negotiates higher yields and that, on roughly $50 million in cash, a 4.2% return could amount to about $2 million annually before fees. Chief Financial Officer Javier Chargo de Laffaro told the council staff would consider the input and explore alternatives such as same-day-liquidity pool investments or negotiating different bank terms.

Nguyen read portions of the email exchange into the record and directly challenged Molina’s descriptions of events. Nguyen said, “I have not solicited nor received cost comparisons from any bank,” and later characterized Molina’s statements to the account manager as fabricated. Nguyen also told the account manager to confirm any assertions with city staff.

The council item on the city’s banking relationship was presented as a receive-and-file item with no formal action beyond that designation during the meeting. No vote or contract authorization occurred during the discussion. The CFO indicated staff would investigate options for short-term investments and negotiating bank fees and earnings credits.

The City Manager’s clarifications and the council discussion were presented at the beginning of the meeting as administrative updates. Nguyen said the clarifications were necessary to correct the public record about what had been reported to the council and to the bank account manager.

The council did not take further formal action on the banking relationship at the Nov. 3 meeting; any change to bank contracts or account terms would require future council consideration if staff recommends contract changes or competitive solicitations.

Details mentioned in the discussion include Nguyen’s description of the refinancing calendar showing no extension of final maturity, Starr’s example of a 4.2% yield on roughly $50 million in cash (presented as an illustrative comparison), and a Bank of America account for city operating needs that Nguyen said holds approximately $10,000,000 to cover payroll and vendor payments (figure provided in the clarifying remarks).