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agenda items

A&A: How much detail does the Brown Act require for agenda items?

FAC June 8, 2012

Q: The board of supervisors recently passed a resolution requiring public water and sewer for homes built on properties smaller than 40 acres.  The resolution number was not listed on the agenda. Is this a violation of the Brown Act? A: The Brown Act requires that agendas include “a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session. A brief

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A&A: Water agency contractors’ calculations “trade secret”?

FAC January 16, 2012

Q: A county water agency has hired a consultant for a major capital project and has released the feasibility study done by the consultant but has not responded for a request to review the consulting contract itself. This isn’t academic: the agency asserts that the consultants’ excel spread sheet originals containing the actual cell-by-cell math calculations are proprietary to the consultant and the water agency itself isn’t privy to the calculations. Here’s the dilemma: first,

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A&A: I ask for transparency; they ask me to resign

FAC January 11, 2012

Q: I have concerns that my school District has violated the Brown Act.  When the school board made our interim Superintendent a permanent Superintendent without any public input because it wasn’t properly agendized. I am also concerned that a committee I serve on has been deemed a closed door confidential meeting per the Brown Act. I am an unpaid, parent volunteer on the committee and one of several stakeholders (parents, community, retired teacher, district employees

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Real agenda cloaked in government buzzwords and bafflegab

FAC April 19, 2011

BY DICK ROGERS—When it came time last December to vote on a labor contract for hundreds of city workers, San Leandro leaders didn’t scurry into a back room to make the politically hot decision in secret. That’s the good news. The bad news is that San Leandro, like other local governments, obscured its intent and minimized public participation in another way. Call it hiding in plain sight. Instead of helping the public by spelling out

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A&A: Council took action on a for-discussion-only agenda item

FAC December 6, 2010

Q: A recent city council meeting agend  discussion item stated that “No action was called for.” The “summary recommendation” was  that the city council “receive and file this report. ”  However, without any public notice, the City Council took action.  I know the Brown Act requires items on which Council acts to be on the agenda in advance, unless there is an emergency or need for immediate action wasn’t realized earlier. What should I do

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