Will West Sacramento City Council break the law on Thursday night? What experts say
West Sacramento City Council may break the law on Thursday night.
That depends on whether at least two city council members attend Mayor Martha Guerrero’s State of the City address in City Hall. The council is made up of five people, four councilors and Guerrero. This quorum along with a price tag of $150 per seat would make the meeting in violation of the Brown Act, according to experts on the topic.
“They should not be charging the public for the privilege of attending a public meeting on public property,” David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition in San Rafael.
The California state law that Loy cited guarantees the public’s right to freely attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.
Guerrero’s speech is treated like a ticketed event because the West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce runs it as a fundraiser. Along with admission to the mayor’s speech, the ticket includes a cocktail reception and dinner.
“From an ethical perspective, an event held at City Hall should be open to the public,” said John Pelissero, a senior scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “The fact that the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring this and intends to charge $150 for a ticket, just on the face of it, violates a sense of fairness.”
But West Sacramento City Manager Aaron Laurel said the event doesn’t violate the Brown Act because there is an exception for social or ceremonial events.
The act says those exceptions are allowed, “provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.”
Loy said that portion of The Brown Act is meant to deal with events like a hospital groundbreaking or a gala for The Red Cross at which all council members are present, not a meeting in which the mayor is discussing plans for the city.
Guerrero said she has had concerns about this arrangement with the chamber ever since she gave her first State of the City three years ago.
“For me, the state of the city is to connect with the community and invite them to learn more about what’s happening, to develop an engaged process with the community,” Guerrero said. “That’s how I see it.”
West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce officials refused to comment, other than to refer questions to city officials.
Can a few free seats satisfy the law?
Guerrero said after she threatened to take her speech elsewhere, chamber officials conceded to let her and the four council members have their own tables where non-paying guests can sit and hear the speech.
City Manager Laurel said the city is actually paying the chamber for those tables.
Even if the chamber was giving the seats for free, Loy said, “throwing in a few free token seats” is not enough to avoid violating the Brown Act.
Under the Brown Act, citizens or law enforcement officials could sue a government body in violation and receive legal fees if they prevail. “Individuals or the district attorney may file civil lawsuits for injunctive, mandatory or declaratory relief, or to void action taken in violation of the Act,” the act reads.
The district attorney is also allowed to bring misdemeanor criminal penalties against the governing body, which could include up to 364 days in jail.
Guerrero said next year it will be different.
“I don’t want people to pay for their seats,” she said.
Laurel said he is working with the mayor to fulfill her wishes and that discussions are being held to make the event free for all attendees next year.
He said the chamber has held the city hall event for more than 20 years without anyone raising concerns about violations of the Brown Act.
