With recent allegations of violations of open meeting laws, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission is again under attack as one of its commissioners accused it of transparency lapses. A Governor Jerry Brown appointee, Bill Chadwick, said the staff ducked his questions about a hiring and failed to report a previous meeting between the job candidate, a commissioner and a county lawyer. (Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2016, by Rong-Gong Lin II)
The Whittier City Council allegedly violated the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, by discussing a contract in closed session before presenting the settlement in open meeting thus depriving the citizens of an opportunity to affect the decision. The contract involved two trash haulers, one of which was prevented by a citywide referendum to work for the city for one year. The referendum came in response to an earlier revelation that Athens, the banned hauler, won a lucrative contract after the city’s consultant “manipulated revenue numbers.” (Downey Beat, May 12, 2016, by Brian Hews)
Los Alto’s parking committee may disband over allegations it violated the state’s open meeting laws. The committee used subcommittees that overlapped, used e-mail to conduct business and conducted serial meetings. (Los Altos Town Crier, May 11, 2016, by Alicia Castro)
An executive committee of the Orange County Water District Board of Directors has been meeting for years in violation of the state’s open meetings law. In meetings closed to the public, the committee decides how the public should be allowed to participate in discussions and has deliberated such issues as the budget, director pay and the hiring of lobbyists. (Voice of OC, May 2, 2016, by Adam Elmahrek)
A community activist, Robert Goldberg, Seal Beach Sun, April 29, 2016, said he blew the whistle on the Seal Beach City Council after he failed to get a satisfactory answer as to why the council had approved a $120,000 lobbying contract in closed session.
An Idyllwild Water District director was told he could not attend an agenda meeting with the general manager and the board president since it would violate the state’s open meeting law against serial communications. The Brown Act does not actually prevent any two members of the board to meet “as long as neither of them communicates their discussion – either directly or through an intermediary – to a third member of the board.” (Idyllwild Town Crier, April 28, 2016, by Jack Clark)
Eureka may face a lawsuit over its expedited plans to use shipping containers to house the homeless. An attorney representing businesses and property owners claimed the town violated the state’s open meeting law by failing to notify the public of the plan. (Lost Coast Outpost, April 18, 2016, by Ryan Burns)