Lodi’s former city manager is suing the city, alleging officials retaliated against him and later fired him after he raised concerns about financial controls, city credit card use and other issues at City Hall.

Scott Carney filed the civil complaint June 4 in San Joaquin County Superior Court. The lawsuit accuses the city of violating California whistleblower protections under the state Labor Code and seeks unspecified damages.

The Lodi City Council is scheduled to discuss the case in closed session Wednesday. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Carney’s lawsuit stems from concerns he publicly raised during an April 1, 2025, City Council meeting. At that meeting, Carney said staff reports had been changed before they were presented to the council and raised concerns about internal controls, city finances and the possible misuse of public funds.

During the meeting, then-Mayor Cameron Bregman stopped Carney as he began discussing personnel-related matters in open session. The city later placed Carney on administrative leave and said it would investigate the concerns he raised.

The Brown Act, California’s open-meetings law, limits what local officials can discuss outside properly noticed public meetings or closed sessions.

According to the lawsuit, Carney began raising concerns about city operations shortly after he was hired. The complaint says two community members approached him on May 1, 2024 — the same day the council approved his employment contract — with concerns about the management of city programs and resources.

The lawsuit also says Councilman and now Mayor Ramon Yepez met with Carney on May 13, 2024, and expressed concerns about public corruption and the need for an audit of the city.

Carney started work as city manager in June 2024. By August, the lawsuit says, he began telling the council about concerns involving accounting, procurement, public records practices and possible misconduct by city employees.

The complaint says Carney also initiated investigations into alleged criminal activity involving employees in two city departments.

Several of the allegations center on city credit card use.

In one example, the lawsuit says a Public Works Department employee used a city credit card in February 2024 to buy 100 doses of Narcan nasal spray. Carney alleges there was no approved city program or policy for distributing the Narcan and that he requested follow-up, but none was provided.

In another case, the complaint says a recycling vendor reported what Carney described as a “pay-to-play” system at the city’s Municipal Services Yard. According to the lawsuit, the vendor said a city employee approached him about providing recycling services without a formal contract or procurement process. The vendor also alleged that Public Works employees asked for cash payments and told him to remove his bins after he refused to pay.

Carney alleges the matter was referred to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.

The lawsuit also points to purchases made by a city technology manager during his final month of employment. Carney alleges several purchases were between $5,000 and $10,000, while one exceeded $50,000. The complaint says Carney recommended further review of the purchases and the city’s procurement process.

Another allegation involves a management-level employee in the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department who, according to the lawsuit, reimbursed the city more than $500 after family airline tickets were charged to a city credit card.

Carney alleges that credit card misuse was more widespread than isolated mistakes and that the city relied too heavily on employees to self-report and reimburse personal charges.

The lawsuit says outside reviews identified accounting and internal control problems, including issues with account reconciliations, utility deposits and credit card oversight. Carney alleges those findings showed the city needed a deeper review.

The city has previously said an audit by Lance, Soll & Lunghard LLP found no evidence of fraud or attempted fraud by city employees during the 2023-24 fiscal year. Carney’s lawsuit argues that other reviews still identified serious weaknesses and accounting irregularities that required more investigation.

The complaint says Carney believed he had a legal and ethical duty to report the issues and push for stronger controls. Instead, he alleges, city officials interfered with his ability to do his job, placed him on leave and eventually terminated him.

According to the complaint, Carney was placed on administrative leave April 9, 2025. The lawsuit says he was cut off from city email and told not to speak with employees, preventing him from continuing to oversee the investigations he had started.

Carney was terminated Nov. 6, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit seeks damages for lost wages, benefits, future earnings, harm to Carney’s reputation and career, attorney fees, litigation costs, interest and any other relief the court finds appropriate.