Agency Challenge

February 20, 2012 Mr. Vince Harris Executive Director Stanislaus Council of Governments 1111 I Street, Suite 308 Modesto, CA 95354 RE: VIOLATIONS OF RALPH M. BROWN ACT; DEMAND FOR CURE AND CORRECTION Dear Mr. Harris, Californians Aware demands a cure and correction of repeated violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950 et seq.), consisting of meetings of a quorum of its Policy Board of the Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG) without notice to the public or accommodation of public attendance. StanCOG, as a joint powers agency, is subject to the Brown Act with respect to the meetings of its governing body, the Policy Board. While the Policy Board comprises 16 elected officials, StanCOG’s voting members comprise only 10 public agencies—Stanislaus County and nine incorporated municipalities: Modesto, Ceres, Hughson, Newman, Oakdale, Patterson, Newman, Riverbank and Waterford. Of those members, the bylaws provide that six constitute a voting quorum, since six is a majority of the member agencies. Thus the presence of six mayors, for example, can permit the conduct of business, and of those six as few as four—both a majority and two thirds of those present as a bare quorum—can determine the position of the Policy Board. As it happens, six mayors—representing Modesto, Newman, Oakdale, Patterson, Riverbank and Waterford—constitute a “Mayors’ Working Group” which, we are reliably informed, has for months been meeting informally without notice to the public or the opportunity for public attendance, developing a ballot initiative on agricultural preservation. The effect is that a majority of the Policy Board’s voting members has been meeting out of compliance with the Brown Act to develop policy proposals for legislative action at the ballot box. This non-noticed, nonpublic process has been [...]

May 15, 2011 SENT BY ELECTRONIC AND POSTAL MAIL RE: Recreation Committee and the Brown Act DEMAND FOR CORRECTION Honorable Carmen Cave, Mayor City of Aliso Viejo 12 Journey, Suite 100 Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-5335 Dear Mayor Cave, This letter is to caution you that the “Recreation Ad Hoc Committee” created by the City Council at its April 15, 2009 meeting is a legislative body required to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950 et seq.). The Act in Section 54952 states: As used in this chapter, “legislative body” means: ***** (b) A commission, committee, board, or other body of a local agency, whether permanent or temporary, decisionmaking or advisory, created by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body. . . advisory committees, composed solely of the members of the legislative body that are less than a quorum of the legislative body are not legislative bodies, except that standing committees of a legislative body, irrespective of their composition, which have a continuing subject matter jurisdiction, or a meeting schedule fixed by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body are legislative bodies for purposes of this chapter . The “Recreation Ad Hoc Committee,” despite the words “Ad Hoc,” is a standing committee having been given a continuing area of subject matter jurisdiction without a terminal point in terms of either date or task accomplishment. As reflected in the minutes of the April 1, 2009 meeting of the Council, you (then a Council Member) suggested Council agendize the establishment of an ad hoc committee to conduct a needs analysis for recreational services in the City and the use of park improvement bonds and community enhancement fees for next [...]