California: Hanford City Council may be correct in withholding packet of allegations

The Hanford City Council has so far not released an anonymous packet of documents to the public and may never. The documents make allegations against city leaders which the council discussed in closed meetings. Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publisher Association, said the council may be on safe ground in denying public [...]

A&A: Does the Brown Act allow closed sessions to appoint legal firm?

Q: Our local water district board is appointing new general counsel. They have agendized this in a special meeting, allowing each prospect to give a presentation on their firm in open session. After each presentation, the board went into closed session pursuant to GC 54957(b)(1), ”Public Employee Appointment: General Counsel.” I have never seen this [...]

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

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. [...]

A&A: Can new board member get updated on past closed sessions?

Q: I am a newly elected school board member. Our upcoming agenda will contain a closed session item that has also been discussed in closed session prior to my appointment. Can I ask the staff and board members who participated in the prior closed session to divulge what was discussed? A: I am not aware [...]

A&A: Denied right to have job termination discussed in open meeting

Q: I was accused of conflict of interest and fired from my job at the Community College District. I requested an open session for the appeal to the Board for my termination and was denied. I made three requests in writing, all of which were denied by the District. I believe it is my right [...]

A&A: The board reached ‘a unanimous decision’ but also claimed ‘no action was taken’ in closed session

Q: I am a director of a charter high school who was recently put on administrative leave (via an email that stated it was by unanimous decision of the board) following a closed meeting at which they announced “No action was taken.” I do not understand how no action could have been taken yet there [...]

California: St. Helena newspaper holding city council to account on open meeting issues

The St. Helena Star is alleging that the St. Helena City Council has once again violated California’s open meeting law, the Brown Act, by not posting their discussion of compensation for former City Manager, Mary Neilan. The council held a closed door meeting to discuss Neilan’s no-cause firing and negotiated a severance package and confidentiality [...]

California: Portola Valley City Council calls closed session without adequate notice

In calling an urgent  closed session at the end of its regular meeting to discuss a real estate deal, the Portola Valley City Council failed to notify the public of the agenda and  time of the meeting 72 hours in advance thereby, according to one expert, violating the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. [...]

California: After a year Manhattan Beach admits open meeting violation

It took a year but Manhattan Beach has admitted that the city violated the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, apologized to the citizenry and released sealed documents pertaining to the dispute. The city was at odds with open government advocates and members of the public over whether  a former city manager resigned or [...]

California: Capristrano school board to rectify alleged open meeting violations

To forestall lawsuits alleging open meeting violations, the Capristrano Unified School District trustees will vote again on Wednesday to restore two days to the school calendar and part of the salary increase for teachers. School district watchdogs contended that a recent vote on these issues in closed session was not clearly delineated on an agenda [...]

A&A: Who is allowed to sit in on closed sessions regarding hiring?

Q: Is a Current County CEO appointed by a Board of Supervisors allowed to sit in on the closed door meeting of interviewing new CEO candidates when 3 of the 6 inside candidates from the County work in the CEO’S Office. While this may be legal it is very troublesome because of power the current [...]

South Lake Tahoe city council runs afoul of open meeting law

A Lake Tahoe News reporter claims the South Lake Tahoe City Council discussed an item not on the agenda so that the public did not have a chance to comment, a clear violation of California’s open meeting law, the Brown Act. -db Lake Tahoe News Opinion December 16, 2010 By Kathryn Reed On the first [...]

Santa Ynez: School principal loses case alleging open meeting violation

A California court dismissed allegations that the Santa Ynez union Valley High School District Board violated the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, in meeting in closed session to consider complaints against a former principal. -db Santa Ynez Valley Journal October 14, 2010 By SYVJ Staff The Second District Court of Appeals, in an [...]

Open-meeting violation alleged over Pomona schools parcel tax proposal

A citizen accused the Pomona Unified School District board of violating California’s open meeting law by holding discussions in closed sessions about a parcel tax proposed for the November ballot. The board’s attorney says the board acted properly in that all votes concerning the parcel tax were conducted in public. -db Contra Costa Times August [...]

Sutter County: Supervisors forgive tax bill in closed session

An editorial in the Appeal Democrat criticizes the Sutter County Board of Supervisors for settling a disputed tax payment in the favor of the Fremont-Rideout Health Group in a closed session without required public disclosure. -DB Appeal Democrat Editorial August 8, 2009 Oh, Team Sutter, you’ve strayed again. Once again, the public’s right to know is [...]

Clear Lake: Rare prosecution for Brown Act violation dropped

Saying that the remedies were civil, the Lake County district attorney dropped a misdemeanor charge of violating the Brown Act brought when a Clearlake City Council member allegedly violated the confidentiality of a closed session by discussing an evaluation of the city administrator. -DB Lake County News August 6, 2009 By Elizabeth Larson CLEARLAKE – [...]

Tenure advisory committee closed session

Q: At our community college, the board of trustees “rely primarily” on the advice of the senate in granting or denying tenure. For many years, the practice has been to hold a closed session with the tenure review committee, excuse the committee after their testimony, then hold a closed session to debate the merits of [...]

A&A: Closed Session Voting

Closed Session Voting Q: In a closed session discussion, a vote was taken regarding the non-reelect of employees.  After the vote two people were asked why they voted the way they did (they had not discussed their reasons against the action prior to the vote).  Is the reason they gave for the way they voted [...]

A&A: Getting information from closed sessions

Getting information from closed sessions Q: Our board has agendized for the upcoming meeting the following under closed session using 54956.9 for the below items. a.  Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release b.  Conference with Labor Negotiator Does this mean that during open session they need not disclose the position of the employee that was being disciplined and [...]

A&A: Describing a closed session

Describing a closed session Q: Is a school district obligated to describe the closed session subject in language understandable to the lay person? A: Government Code section 54954.2(a) provides that at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting, the body must post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item to be [...]

A&A: Entities meeting in a closed “workshop” setting

Entities meeting in a closed “workshop” setting Q: Can a public entity meet in closed session and make decisions of public import in a “workshop” setting? A: The fact that the board of supervisors’ meeting was called a “workshop” does not mean that it was not a “meeting” subject to the Brown Act. A meeting [...]

A&A: Opening closed session agenda items by a city council

Opening closed session in mid-meeting Q: Can a city council vote to open a closed session agenda item for the public record? A: There are at least two possible answers to your question, depending on the particular situation. First, after a closed session, a city council is generally required to disclose certain information about that [...]

A&A: Closed sessions to hire and decide pay for outside counsel

Closed sessions to hire and decide pay for outside counsel Q: Can city council hold a closed session to decide to hire outside counsel? Can they decide in closed session on how much to pay outside counsel? A: Section 54956.9 of the California Government Code provides that the legislative body of a local agency, “based on [...]

A&A: Closed session announcement and sufficiency of description

Closed session announcement and sufficiency of description Q: 1. How specific do closed session announcements have to be, generally?  Must they announce all actions taken that would not prejudice an ongoing legal action? 2.  In the announcement of a settlement agreement after closed session, does the amount of the agreement have to be announced? 3.  [...]