In a court filing, the Tulare County supervisors admitted violating California’s open meetings law in holding regular lunch meetings they had earlier claimed were only to bolster their esprit de corp.
Tulare supervisors admit open meeting law violations in holding lunch meetings
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20100721/NEWS01/7210323/Court-filing-Tulare-County-Board-of-Supervisors-admitted-violations-to-open-meetings-law
Visalia Times-Deta
July 21, 2010
By Valerie Gibbons
A new court filing argues that Tulare County supervisors admitted violating state open-meeting laws when they certified that lunch meetings represented a business expense.
Southern California open-meetings watchdog Richard McKee filed a lawsuit in March alleging that the Board of Supervisors violated state open-meeting laws — known collectively as the Brown Act — when it met with a voting majority 46 times for meals in 2009. He filed the suit to end such lunch meetings.
The California Newspaper Publishers Association and the company that owns the Visalia Times-Delta, Visalia Newspapers Inc., joined the suit in April.
The new filing says the county’s characterization of the lunch meetings as “team building” and “building collegiality” represent an admission that the county violated the Brown Act. The filing marks the second round of sparring involving the county, McKee, the newspaper and the trade association.
Copyright 2010 Gannett
In a court filing, the Tulare County supervisors admitted violating California’s open meetings law in holding regular lunch meetings they had earlier claimed were only to bolster their esprit de corp.
Visalia Times-Deta
Visalia Times-Deta
July 21, 2010
By Valerie Gibbons
A new court filing argues that Tulare County supervisors admitted violating state open-meeting laws when they certified that lunch meetings represented a business expense.
Southern California open-meetings watchdog Richard McKee filed a lawsuit in March alleging that the Board of Supervisors violated state open-meeting laws — known collectively as the Brown Act — when it met with a voting majority 46 times for meals in 2009. He filed the suit to end such lunch meetings.
The California Newspaper Publishers Association and the company that owns the Visalia Times-Delta, Visalia Newspapers Inc., joined the suit in April.
The new filing says the county’s characterization of the lunch meetings as “team building” and “building collegiality” represent an admission that the county violated the Brown Act. The filing marks the second round of sparring involving the county, McKee, the newspaper and the trade association.
Copyright 2010 Gannett