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Westminster council recesses to closed session on city attorney appointment after resident urges legal compliance, warns of budget shortfalls
Summary
At a special Sept. 17 meeting, the Westminster City Council recessed to closed session to consider the appointment of a city attorney after one resident urged the council to follow laws on appointments and warned of past 'millions'-level deficits; staff said no report was expected.
Westminster — The Westminster City Council, sitting as the successor agency to the Westminster Redevelopment Agency, recessed to closed session on Sept. 17 to consider the appointment of a city attorney after a single public comment urged strict compliance with hiring rules and warned of prior budget shortfalls.
City staff opened the special meeting, confirmed a quorum and announced that oral communications were limited to the closed-session item. Staff said one speaker, identified as Tony Buoy, had signed up to speak and reminded the public comments must relate to the closed-session matter. "Public employee employment appointment pursuant to Government Code section 54957(b)(1), title: city attorney," staff read aloud before the council recessed.
During the public-comment period, Buoy, who said he has been a Westminster resident for more than 20 years, urged elected officials to follow the city and state laws when appointing public employees and to protect employees' differing opinions. "When you have public employee employment, you have to trust them and trust them and protect them and respect their different opinion," Buoy said. He also warned that failure to follow rules could expose the city to litigation and said the city was in a deficit "last year," referencing "million dollar and then couple more million dollar" shortfalls without giving a precise figure.
Council members and staff limited the comment to matters pertaining to the closed-session item; a city official reiterated that comments must relate to the appointment. After the brief public comment and the reading of the closed-session item, the council recessed; staff said they did not anticipate reporting out of closed session.
The closed session concerned the confidential personnel matter of appointing a city attorney under Government Code section 54957(b)(1). No formal action or vote was taken in public during the session, and no outcome was announced before the recess.
The council is expected to continue its work in closed session; staff indicated there would likely be nothing to report to the public at the meeting's conclusion.
