North Coast CSD board violated California’s public meeting law, DA says
With local agencies conducting public meetings via phone or video conferencing amid coronavirus precautions, a mishap by a local public agency could serve as a lesson on open government during the temporary emergency measures.
The San Simeon Community Services District failed to hold an “open and public” board meeting in March and violated the state’s open government law when it gave residents the wrong login information for video conferencing system Zoom, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office said in a letter to the agency April 10.
The District Attorney’s Office’s Public Integrity Unit is demanding that the district correct the alleged violation by holding another hearing on its public emergency resolution at a special meeting Wednesday.
The law enforcement agency is also recommending the CSD’s directors and staff undergo training within the next two months about the Ralph M. Brown Act, which requires public noticing of items of discussion and mandates the public’s ability to attend and participate.
On April 10, deputy district attorney Kenneth Jorgensen sent a letter to San Simeon CSD regarding the board of directors’ special meeting March 20, when declared a local public emergency, providing increased authority to general manager Charles Grace and leniency on collection of water and sewer bills.
Jorgensen wrote that the district’s special meeting agenda listed a “virtual meeting location,” inviting members of the public to join through an online hyperlink or a dial-in teleconference number. Because no physical location was offered, the only way a member of the public could attend the meeting was through virtual means, the prosecutor wrote.
Moreover, Jorgensen wrote, the special meeting’s agenda packet did not include a staff report for the emergency resolution or any other legal analysis on the district’s authority to declare a public emergency, or the fiscal impact of approving the resolution.
About 27 minutes into the meeting, some directors and staff discussed the fact that the public wasn’t able to log in, and all directors and staff were aware of the problem by the end of the meeting, the letter reads.
There were some comments made by staff that since it was the first virtual meeting, it should be considered a success, and a director commented that “it will get better,” Jorgensen wrote. The measure passed unanimously.
The district did notify residents in a public posting March 24 that the login information it posted in the March 20 agenda was incorrect, and apologized “for any frustration this may have caused.” The post included a link to view recorded video of the meeting.
But on its most recent agenda, the district had not scheduled a discussion item to correct the March 20 vote, prompting the District Attorney’s Office letter.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order on March 17 loosened protocols in an effort to limit public gatherings amid coronavirus precautions, but requires agencies “provide the public access to their meetings” and “give notice of the means by which members of the public may observe the meeting and offer public comment.”
Jorgensen wrote that the San Simeon CSD’s vote on the emergency order was essentially void.
“While it’s understandable that issues arise when adjusting to new technologies, it does not excuse the (CSD) from dismissing the single most important (tenet) of the Brown Act,” the letter reads.
Jorgensen wrote that he is requesting that the district email him their future agenda packets for the rest of the calendar year, and recommended that “the directors and staff schedule a Brown Act training in the near future.”
Members of the public who wish to view the 3 p.m. special meeting on Wednesday, April 22, can obtain the current Zoom and teleconferencing login information at sansimeoncsd.org/board-meetings.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 1:36 PM.
