City Council Review - Part 1

Last week I attended the City Council meeting. I was disappointed that the Council members do not answer direct questions of interest to residents. I understand if they don’t want to answer “political” questions, but the avoidance of responding to relevant questions is disturbing. One concerned resident from Forest Gardens wanted to know what the city was doing about the terrible stink that comes from the water recycling plant across the street on Muirlands. The stink is so bad and has been going on for so long that residents submitted a petition with over 200 signatures asking the City to do something. When I was Mayor I got IRWD to come to a meeting and they claimed there was nothing they could do because the equipment and technology were so outdated. So I asked the staff to come up with some plan for what the City could legally do to force IRWD to do a better job. Significantly impacting the quality of life for thousands of residents should be a concern for the City. The resident asked for an update from now Mayor Tettemer, who, ironically enough, is in charge of the recycling program and hence the steward of the stink itself. Tettemer was silent. In the past he claims that he is instructed by the City Attorney not to respond, but anyone familiar with the Brown Act knows that Council members are specifically allowed to respond –

“No action or discussion shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except that members of a legislative body or its staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights under Section 54954.3. In addition, on their own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public, a member of a legislative body or its staff may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on 58 his or her own activities. Furthermore, a member of a legislative body, or the body itself, subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda.” 54954.2(a)

Contrary to what Tettemer has been saying, nothing in the Brown Act restricts what a Council person can say, except that it must be brief, which isn’t defined.

Tettemer isn‘t the only person who remains silent in the face of pertinent questions. Voigts and Moatzedi stare blankly when asked relevant questions, and Robinson will only respond to questions that allow him to wave the American flag and/or remind people of how much he cares.

The only person up there now who actually listens and responds is Leah Basile. She appears to be the only ombudsman and her “district” is the entire City.

Tomorrow I’ll follow-up with some other issues that arose at the Council meeting.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is a former City Council member and Mayor. He is one of the organizing members of Lake Forest Community Action Network. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook