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Advocates accuse council of using short-notice special meetings for budget votes; says FAIR Ontario founder
Summary
Chris Robles of FAIR Ontario said the city repeatedly holds special meetings with 24-hour notice to pass budgets without public presentation and said he is researching Brown Act complaints; the meeting referenced a special meeting scheduled for the next day to consider a fee schedule and five-year expenditures.
Chris Robles, founder of FAIR Ontario, told the council he was concerned about the city's practice of holding special meetings to pass budgets with short public notice and limited public record.
Robles said he received an email at 4:48 p.m. announcing a special meeting the next day at 5 p.m., and alleged the city has consistently passed budgets at special meetings with only 24 hours' notice and without presentations in the public chamber or available recordings. "This needs to stop," Robles said. He added that many past budgets appearing on consent calendars lacked presentations and suggested such a pattern could violate the Brown Act; he said he is "looking into filing complaints" about the practice.
Robles also said the agenda for the next day's special meeting would cover a fee schedule and a five‑year expenditures measure and suggested what should be a $1,000,000,000 budget was being handled without adequate public presentation. Council members acknowledged the comment during public comment; staff and council did not provide an on-the-record response in this meeting.
