To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Steve Potter, City Manager
Prepared By: Michael Barrett, City Attorney
TITLE:
Title
Compliance with Open and Public Meeting Procedures, and Proposed Action to Cure and Correct Alleged Violation of Brown Act
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution (1) Documenting the City Council’s Compliance with the Open and Public Meeting Requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act (California Government Code Sections 54950, and following) in Response to a Letter from the Napa County Farm Bureau dated August 28, 2023; and (2) Curing and Correcting an Alleged Violation of the Brown Act by Retracting a Letter Dated August 7, 2023, Signed by Three Members of City Council, and Providing Related Notices.
Body
DISCUSSION:
All legislative bodies of local agencies in California are required to conduct business during duly noticed meetings that are open to the public and conducted in accordance with the requirements of the State law known as the Brown Act (Government Code Sections 54950, and following; see ATCH 2). For the City of Napa, the legislative bodies subject to the Brown Act include the City Council (as the City’s governing body), as well as all appointed City Boards, Commissions, and Committees (which may be referred to as “City Commissions”). The City Council has adopted policy resolutions to document the manner by which the City Council and City Commissions implement Brown Act requirements. (See ATCH 3 and ATCH 4).
In general, the Brown Act prohibits a majority of the members of any legislative body from meeting to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, unless the meeting is conducted in accordance with the Brown Act. Under the Brown Act, the definition of a “meeting” includes any series of communications among a majority of the members (whether the communications are direct, or indirect through intermediaries) to discuss, deliberate or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
If any interested person asserts that the City has violated the Brown Act, before pursuing civil legal action against the City, that person must first submit to the City Clerk a demand letter describing the action of the City that is alleged to have violated the Brown Act, along with the remedial action demanded to be taken by the City. One remedial action authorized under the Brown Act is to demand the City Council cure or correct the alleged violation. In response to that demand, if the City Council cures or corrects the alleged violation, the matter will have been resolved, and if any civil legal action were filed against the City, the Brown Act provides that it shall be dismissed with prejudice by the court. (See Government Code Section 54960.1(e).) Moreover, the fact that the City Council takes a subsequent action to cure or correct an alleged violation shall not be construed as or admissible as evidence of a violation of the Brown Act. (See Government Code Section 54960.1(f).)
In addition to any potential civil legal action, it is a criminal misdemeanor violation of the Brown Act if a member attends a meeting of a legislative body where action is taken in violation of the Brown Act and the “member intends to deprive the public of information to which the member knows or has reason to know the public is entitled…” (See Government Code Section 54959.)
On August 28, 2023, the Napa County Farm Bureau forwarded a letter (ATCH 1, EXH B) to the City asserting that it was a Brown Act violation for three members of the City Council to sign and send a letter dated August 7, 2023, to the Napa County Board of Supervisors. The August 7th letter (ATCH 1, EXH A) identified concerns regarding an item of business to be considered by the Board of Supervisors that could have a negative impact on the watershed of a municipal water reservoir managed by the City. The August 7th letter was not previously considered during a regular meeting or special meeting of the City Council. The Farm Bureau’s August 28th letter demands that the City Council cure or correct the alleged violation by: (1) issuing a written retraction of the August 7th letter; (2) sending the retraction with a request for its publication to the Napa Valley Register, which reported on the statement to the community; and (3) sending the retraction to the Napa County Board of Supervisors.
Therefore, in order to avoid any potential civil legal action being filed against the City, staff recommends that the City Council approve the resolution attached to this staff report by which the City Council cures or corrects the alleged violation of the Brown Act by retracting the August 7th letter (ATCH 1, EXH A) and distributing the retraction as requested.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
None.
CEQA:
The City Manager has determined that the recommended action described in this agenda report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
EX A - Letter from Mary Luros, Scott Sedgley, and Liz Alessio to Napa County Board of Supervisors, dated August 7, 2023
EX B - Letter from Napa County Farm Bureau, Peter Nissen, dated August 28, 2023
ATCH 2 - Link to Ralph M. Brown Act
ATCH 3 - Link to City Council Policy Resolution No. 19 (R2016-6)
ATCH 4 - Link to City Council Policy Resolution No. 10 (R2016-5)
NOTIFICATION:
None.