Carlsbad council moves into closed session for city attorney evaluation; outside counsel named

The Carlsbad City Council moved into a closed session to consider the performance evaluation of the city attorney and, if time permits, to confer with labor negotiators, the presiding chair and the city attorney said at the start of the meeting.

The chair called for the roll and announced attendance; the chair also noted that Councilmember Carolyn Luna was present but not in the chambers and would participate in the closed session. After confirming there were no public speakers, the chair asked the city attorney to "take us into closed session," which the city attorney acknowledged.

The city attorney told the council that "the closed session is authorized by Government Code sections 54957 and 54957.6" and said, "There'll be two matters under consideration: the performance evaluation of the city attorney and conference with labor negotiators if time permits." The city attorney then named the city's representatives for the closed session as Mayor Keith Blackburn and Councilmember Carolyn Luna and identified the unrepresented employee as the city attorney.

The city attorney disclosed a personal interest in the outcome and said, "because I have a personal interest in the outcome, the city will be represented by Lisonbee Alpert of Best, Best and Krieger." No public discussion followed; the council proceeded into the closed session. Closed sessions on personnel and labor matters are not open to the public under the cited Government Code sections, and any actions taken or outcomes from the closed session were not disclosed in the public record at the time the meeting moved behind closed doors.

The council's next public action or any formal decisions resulting from the closed session were not announced in the transcript provided.