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Vallejo council moves into closed session on litigation and labor matters after resident’s tree-trimming complaint
Summary
The Vallejo City Council convened a closed session to discuss existing and anticipated litigation and labor negotiations; one resident, Gilda L., used the public-comment window to complain that city staff told her they would not trim trees on the city side of her sidewalk and said she misunderstood the meeting time.
The Vallejo City Council opened a meeting at 4:33 p.m. and immediately announced it would adjourn into closed session to discuss existing litigation, anticipated litigation involving employee complaints, and labor negotiations, the chair said.
The attorney read the closed-session items: a conference with legal counsel about existing litigation listed on the agenda as "Leave v. City of Vallejo" in Solano County Superior Court; a conference with legal counsel regarding anticipated litigation (initially listed as three cases but reduced to two, described as employee complaints); and a conference with labor negotiators under California Government Code section 54957.6 with designated representatives City Manager Andrew Murray and Human Resources Director Stephanie Su Fuentes, and employee organizations including the Vallejo Police Officers Association (BPOA), the International Association of Firefighters Local 1186, the Confidential Administrative Managerial Professional Association (CAMP), and unrepresented employees.
The chair opened a public-comment period specifically for the closed-session topics so speakers would know which matters the closed session would cover. Staff announced one speaker, identified as Gilda L., who addressed the council at the podium. "I have 2 complaints," Gilda L. said, and added, "they told me over the phone that they couldn't trim the trees around my house on their side of the sidewalk." She also told the council she had arrived earlier because she believed the meeting was at 4:30 p.m., and said she would return for the regular meeting at 7 p.m.
The chair clarified that public comment at that time was limited to items on the closed-session agenda and apologized for the misunderstanding about meeting times. After the brief public comment, the council adjourned into closed session; the council indicated the regular open meeting would occur at 7 p.m.
No motions or votes were taken in the open portion of the meeting recorded in the transcript. The attorney’s reading and the public comment were the principal public actions before the council moved into closed session.
