The Vallejo City Council on Tuesday directed the city manager to engage Rennie Public Law Group, a law firm the city already has under contract, to review recent allegations, recommend whether a formal investigation should be opened and collaborate with city staff to prepare a public response.

The action followed an extended public comment period in which multiple residents urged the council to cancel or postpone the hastily called meeting because Mayor Sures and Vice Mayor Bergenzer were absent and because notice of the meeting was short. “I urge you to cancel this hastily called meeting where council members are not present,” resident Daniel Boone told the council. Others said the timing and notice damaged public trust.

The meeting began in open session with debate among council members about whether to continue the special meeting to a later date so all members could attend. Council member Paul Maris moved to continue the closed session; that motion failed in a roll-call vote. After the failed motion, the council entered closed session and later reported that it had given direction to the city manager’s office to bring in Rennie Public Law Group for the review and to help craft a public response to the allegations.

City Manager Murray reported out of closed session, saying the council provided direction “that the city manager’s office would engage a law firm that the city has under contract, Rennie Public Law Group, to review the recent allegations, to recommend whether a formal investigation should be conducted of the allegations and for that firm to collaborate with city staff to create a public response to those allegations.” The council did not provide further details about the timeline, scope or cost of the firm’s review during the report-out.

Public commenters repeatedly criticized the timing and optics of the special meeting. Several speakers said the meeting notice—sent with less than 24 hours’ notice, according to attendees—undermined transparency and excluded the duly elected mayor and vice mayor. “If this council is serious about bringing the community together, it must begin by modeling that unity,” Sherry Ann Grimm said during public comment.

Council members who spoke in open session framed the special meeting as necessary to provide the city manager direction so the city could respond to recent media reports and allegations. Council member Matias said a city on short notice should still be able to give direction when urgent issues arise; other members said they preferred to discuss next steps in closed session and report back to the public.

The council did not provide a public vote count for the closed-session direction to engage Rennie Public Law Group; the vote on the separate motion to continue the meeting failed, and the council then proceeded into closed session. The city manager’s report did not name a proposed timeline for the firm’s work, whether the firm’s review would be public, or whether the firm would have investigative powers beyond document review and interviews.

The council adjourned shortly after the report-out. No additional formal actions were announced in open session.