Posted March 23, 2026 -- Shady Cove Matters Political Action Committee formal statement regarding March 19th City Council Meeting
Last week, we were shocked when regular gas was over $5.19/gallon. It's gotten higher since then. So, as we deal with rising prices and grapple with the impacts on our own budgets, we want to show you how the City's entrenched Council leadership handles the responsibility of your taxpayer dollars.
Shady Cove’s own budget-to-actual reporting shows that -- so far -- the City has spent over $110K in legal fees which is almost $35,000 over budget. So, naturally, the March Bills Paid report included $9,000 in more legal fees.
This month’s Bills Paid report shows a $6,720 charge from the Attorney for legal matters associated with the Council’s efforts to censure Councilor Paige Winfrey. This is in addition to the $5,115 that has already been spent by the Council on legal fees associated with this matter.
Shady Cove Matters did not agree with the Council’s recent actions; we hoped that with the large turnout of Citizen support for Councilor Winfrey, the matter would be over. Everyone said their piece, a motion to censure was made despite citizens objections, but at least things were done. Done & over by February 19th. Except…. Apparently, Mayor Richardson and Councilor Kathy Nuckles felt that “more transparency was needed” (their words, not ours). So, they contacted the City Attorney and asked him to provide a redacted letter that supposedly provides proof of…. Something???
The letter was solemnly handed out at Council so that Mayor Richardson, Councilor Nuckles and Councilor Mitchell could vote to release it. Read the letter for yourself below and decide whether it was worth $6,700 in new legal fees. Let us know if you think this was a good use of your tax money.
The 3/19 Council meeting included a New Business item to discuss Internal Financial Controls. During Council discussion, Mayor Richardson noted that previous internal controls were inadequate and outdated. She solemnly stated that controls have been neglected for a very long time and it’s one of the reasons we have the financial issues we have now.
If you have followed our reporting on the City’s years of problematic audits, you will understand that having internal controls is critical to running the City effectively. The City had posted the Internal Financial Controls document in advance, and SCM reviewed it. Metadata indicated that the document was authored by Mayor Richardson. We thought Richardson’s document was a good first attempt, however like all first attempts there is always room for improvements. We read a statement with what we felt were constructive comments, including:
Councilor Vanier was absent from the meeting and was unable to comment. Councilor Winfrey liked our comments and recommended taking two more weeks to review and update the document. Unfortunately, Mayor Richardson completely dismissed Winfrey’s concerns, stating that “she should have brought the concerns forward herself”. Once again, Richardson’s bias against any type of citizen input was demonstrated.
Ultimately, the Council cronies (Richardson, Nuckles, Mitchell) refused to listen to constructive criticism, overrode the objections of a Council member who wanted two more weeks to review comments, and insisted on approving the document "as-is" in order to send it to the Secretary of State.
As a result of Richardson's bias, our City will lack meaningful controls for oversight of payroll, oversight of investment accounts, and much more.
Click here to read an annotated copy of the Internal Financial Controls with our comments.
Paid for by shady cove matters political action committee
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At the close of polls on July 7th, the unofficial recall voter results showed 510 residents voting in favor to recall our appointed Mayor, and 225 against it. As we await the official, certified results from the Jackson County Elections Office, we want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in this process, whether by signing a petition, volunteering their time, or making their voice heard. We want to thank every neighbor who refused to stay silent, who stood up for transparency, and who took the time to cast their ballot. THANK YOU!!!