Justin S. Pierce, an attorney with Pierce Coleman Law Firm, gave the San Luis City Council a comprehensive briefing on the city's code of conduct, open meeting law risks, and conflict-of-interest rules, urging members to preserve civility and avoid administrative interference.
Pierce told the council the code's aspiration is to "facilitate a functioning council and process" and listed practical rules: treat staff as professionals, "limit your contact to specific city staff" (preferably via the city manager), do not publicly criticize individual employees and avoid soliciting political support from staff. "When in doubt, just go to the city manager," Pierce said.
On open meeting law, Pierce warned that deliberations can occur in many forums — in person, by phone, by text, email or social media — and cautioned members that communicating about city business with a majority of council members outside an agendaed public meeting risks violating state open meeting law. He recommended avoiding behind‑the‑scenes email, text or group chats on agenda items and to keep informal personal exchanges clearly non‑business.
Pierce outlined the statutory conflict test in plain terms: a council member must not participate in any way in a council decision when the member (or a close relative) has a "substantial pecuniary interest" in the contract, sale, purchase, service or decision. He described the "rule of 10" (remote interest): where an economic interest is shared proportionally by a class of at least 10 members, a member's interest may be deemed remote and not disqualifying. He advised members to seek a written legal opinion from the city attorney where a conflict is uncertain.
The presentation included Council questions about recusal, enforcement and sanctions. Pierce noted that general‑law cities have limited authority to remove elected members but can impose non‑voting sanctions such as removing committee assignments, denying travel/funding, or public censure and that the code's complaint process typically begins with a written complaint to the city manager and city attorney and may include an outside investigator.
Pierce used blunt, memorable guidance: "Don't be a jerk and stay in your lane," and urged periodic retraining for new members. The presentation was instructional; no formal council actions resulted directly from it.