News of the Arroyo
Title: | Brown Act abuse alleged |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-05-29 |
Summary: | May 29, 2003 - Pasadena attorney alleges that the City Council has not complied with open meeting provisions of state law in their discussions of the NFL franchise for the Rose Bowl. |
Author: | Gary Scott, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | Brown Act abuse alleged Lawyer: City debated NFL deal improperly By Gary Scott Staff Writer PASADENA -- A Pasadena attorney says the City Council violated the state\'s open-meeting laws by improperly debating behind closed doors a possible deal to bring the NFL to the Rose Bowl. In a May 22 letter, Chris Sutton accuses the council of using closed-session meetings to discuss the merits of bringing the National Football League to Pasadena and thereby overstepped the authority granted it under the Ralph M. Brown Act. ``These improper secret meetings have prevented the voters and taxpayers of Pasadena from understanding the particular positions taken by their elected officials on this important matter,\'\' Sutton said. He demands the council rescind any actions taken during the closed sessions and conduct all future debates in public. The Brown Act bars local governments from holding closed meetings except to discuss litigation and the ``price or terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange or lease\'\' of property. In this case, the city says it was discussing a possible lease of the Rose Bowl. City Attorney Michele Bagneris said the city followed the law and limited its discussions to stay within Brown Act guidelines. She said Sutton may have erroneously concluded from a May 19 public hearing that the council had gone beyond its restrictions. Terry Francke, legal counsel for the California First Amendment Coalition, said the city may have overstepped its bounds. ``The closed session is not to privately formulate a wish list of things that need to be asked for,\'\' Francke said. If the Legislature had intended to allow every quid pro quo of an agreement to be discussed, it would have made that clear in the Act\'s language. But even if some items were properly addressed in closed session, he said they should have been itemized on the agenda for the meeting. Bagneris said only those parameters that dealt with terms of payment, such as a demand the NFL pay rent at the Rose Bowl, were discussed during the closed sessions. However, she did not delineate which items were considered terms of payment and which were not. Councilman Steve Haderlein said he was comfortable that Bagneris kept the City Council within the limits of the law. ``The city attorney was very aggressive, more so than usual, in guiding the council about what could be talked about,\'\' he said. Sutton opposes the NFL coming to Pasadena and cited the City Council\'s conduct as evidence of the undue influence the league exerts on cities. He called the NFL ``the Darth Vader of municipal finance.\'\' The city has 30 days to respond to Sutton\'s allegations. ``I want to see their written response and then I\'ll decide whether I\'ll sue them or not,\'\' Sutton said. -- Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com. |
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