Will the email and phone call log to Council Member Garcia and Council Member McNaboe be made part of the public record. They both refereed to email and phone and other conversations that were in support of an election. They did not disclose who those were from or who their contacts supported in the case of an appointment being the option. It would be informative to the public to have those folks and comments on the record like was done at the Official Public Meeting, where citizens give their name and address for the record.
Gramps Reply:
I recall a time when City Attorney Harper advised Council Members that leaving an agenda item open for a second meeting could cause Brown Act Violations if they had any contact or conversation not on the Public Record between meetings. That admonishment included phone calls, citizen conversations and email reading.
Given the clear indication that both Council Member Garcia and Council Member McNaboe may have violated this obligation of a Council Member it may be off set by the release of their email and phone log during the time period including a summary of the input. This could be placed in the public record of the City Council Meeting Minutes as an Addendum as they referenced those contacts as part of their decision making on an open agenda item where public speaking had already been opened. That would be the practical resolution however the legal authorities may look at it differently.
Council Member Garcia should have known better, where as Council Member McNaboe is new to the restrictions and conditions of communication. She may have also been party to some of these communications prior to being actually a seated Council Member. Let's hope agenda items are opened and concluded in one meeting so that this situation does not happen on a regular basis.
