Disputes over the enforcement of the Brown Act, the state’s open government law, occupy a prominent place in local government deliberations this December. The Valey Center-Pauma Unified School District in San Diego County is contesting a challenge to their decision to tear down historic Civilian Conservation Corps buildings put up in the Great Depression. A group of citizens claims that the district violated the Brown Act by deciding to tear down the buildings prior to public hearings. (Valley Roadrunner, December 12, 2013, by Shelli DeRobertis)
Richard Paloma, a reporter for the Oakdale Leader, December 13, 2013, wrote that the Oakdale City Council conducted a controversial vote to designate exclusive parking places for a particular business without proper community input. There was discussion of the matter in a Traffic Commission meeting but Paloma wrote that the matter was put on the consent calendar for expeditious passage by the town council and passed without discussion.
A Pleasant Hill resident is attempting to roll back a vote for mayor in a letter to the city attorney that it was suspicious that there was no discussion of the vote and that three council members seemed totally in sync. It is a violation of the Brown Act to decide how to vote outside a public meeting. (Contra Costa Times, December 13, 2013, by Lisa P. White)
In an editorial, the Chino Champion, December 14, 2013, said that the public is too often left without information about contract negotiations with public employees. With pension costs threatening the solvency of local governments, it is important for the public to know the details before votes. The editorial said that Costa Mesa and Fullerton are looking into ordinances to provide more transparency, particularly the annual cost of labor contracts and a fiscal impact analysis of each proposal, labor and management.