Resident urges investigation into hiring and muted meeting recording, warns of Civil Rights complaint

A Mountain House resident told the City Council she remains dissatisfied with staff follow‑up after an October meeting and asked the council to investigate hiring practices she said may have bypassed due process.

Nitu Singh said she and two other residents raised concerns about the city’s hiring process at the Oct. 22 meeting and that the publicly posted video of that meeting was muted for the first 25 minutes, which she called a Brown Act transparency violation. "The recording was muted for the first 25 minutes... Muting the audio undermines public trust and violates the state law," Singh said in public comment, and she said she and other residents received no follow‑up after raising hiring concerns.

Singh asked the council to investigate the hiring of two positions where residents questioned whether due process was followed and requested that findings be shared publicly. She said if the council declines to act she is prepared to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging discrimination in hiring practices.

Council staff responded during the meeting that they had "fixed the tape" for the streaming recording and that staff would follow up on the other issues; the mayor asked staff to ensure residents receive responses. At the transportation update later in the meeting staff said they were reviewing hiring procedures and would disclose what they could publicly.

The council did not take formal action on the hiring complaint at the meeting; staff indicated they will follow up with the resident and will update council in a future manager’s report.