Goleta council reports indemnification vote for mayor following closed session

At the June 3 Goleta City Council meeting, the council reported one item of reportable action from a closed session earlier that day: it approved, by a 4‑0 vote with the mayor abstaining, a request by the mayor for defense and indemnification in pending litigation.

City staff member Rosen read the report. He said the action concerned the matter read into the record at 4 p.m., a lawsuit captioned in the report as Jane Doe v. County of Santa Barbara, Joshua Elizalde, and John Does 1–10. The council approved that the city attorney’s office will defend the mayor and indemnify where appropriate; Rosen said the defense will be provided with a reservation of rights and the city legally may withdraw if it is determined the lawsuit involves matters outside the course and scope of official city duties. The city will serve a subpoena seeking the mayor’s deposition and records in the case, Rosen added.

The report states the vote on the closed‑session item was 4‑0 in favor of indemnification, with Mayor Perotti recorded as abstaining. Rosen said that the city attorney may withdraw representation if the matter is found to be outside official duties. Rosen described this as the only reportable action from closed session.

The council did not take further public action on the matter at the meeting; the announcement fulfilled the Brown Act requirement to report action taken in closed session when the law requires public disclosure.

Because the council’s report summarized closed‑session action, no additional documents were read into the public record at the time beyond Rosen’s summary.