Council rejects claim of secret Brown Act meetings, ratifies litigation and hiring
Loading...
Summary
City attorney told the council a demand letter alleging Brown Act violations was inaccurate; council voted unanimously that no data-center workshop occurred, ratified litigation filings and the hiring of outside counsel, and confirmed there is no reclaimed-water agreement.
Imperial’s city attorney summarized a letter of demand alleging Brown Act violations and requested several formal council confirmations to reduce potential litigation risk.
The attorney said the demand enumerated four items: (1) an alleged data-center workshop that the attorney said did not occur, (2) a reclaimed-water agreement improperly discussed or approved, (3) hiring of outside expert counsel at the city-manager level and (4) litigation filings where the council had reported out the actions. The council took four roll-call votes:
• The council confirmed there was no data-center workshop (motion carried 4-0). • The council ratified and reported out actions associated with city litigation against Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC (case number EUCU004457) (motion carried 4-0). • The council ratified hiring outside counsel and the contract referenced in backup materials (motion carried 4-0). • The council confirmed there is no reclaimed-water agreement in effect (motion carried 4-0).
City counsel said the city followed the law and that the roll calls were intended to reduce the chance of additional litigation. "We reviewed all of our actions. We did do them correctly," the city attorney said.
What’s next: the council’s roll-call confirmations were recorded in the minutes; staff said the Brown Act issues will be monitored and that the city is prepared to supply backup materials if questions persist.
