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Council approves consent agenda and authorizes city attorney to seek special counsel on code‑of‑conduct complaint
Summary
Council unanimously approved the consent agenda including an item to authorize the city attorney to appoint special counsel (Jerome A. de Herrera) to investigate certain code-of-conduct complaints because the city attorney's office reported a conflict. Council reserved substantive debate on item e and said that the code prescribes the city attorney as investigator unless conflicted.
The council approved the consent agenda (items 2a–2f) unanimously early in the July 23 special meeting. One consent item (2e) authorizes the city attorney to appoint special counsel to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute complaints filed under the city’s code of conduct. City attorney Theresa told council her office has a conflict and requested the appointment of special counsel as provided for in the code. "As you read in the agenda memo, my office has a conflict and is unable to conduct an impartial investigation," she said.
Council members were advised that procedural questions about weighing in on an internal code-of-conduct matter should be handled through the specified code process and not debated on the consent calendar; Theresa confirmed the code directs the city attorney to investigate absent a conflict.
