From the
Coast New, June 9, 2011:
"After a two-hour closed session June 3, City Council voted to appeal a judge’s ruling that requires the city to disclose a draft report of road conditions that it previously refused to release to the public."
"The 4-1 vote, with Councilwoman Teresa Barth dissenting, came after half-a-dozen speakers urged the council to comply with the judge’s ruling and make the draft document public. Tony Kranz, a former City Council candidate, asked the council to make its deliberations public."
"[ . . . ] Barth further reasoned that a bright line rule on what the city could disclose to the public and when, would only come from the creation of a so-called “sunshine ordinance.”
"Transparency is the foundation of an ethical government,” she said. “Local policies that go beyond the minimum requirements of the Brown Act and the Public Records Act help to strengthen public trust and confidence in their government. That is why I support a sunshine ordinance for the city of Encinitas."
Cummins blasted the council’s decision to appeal.
“This all could have been avoided at multiple stages if the council had been willing to openly discuss this issue and follow the letter and spirit of the law,” he said.
“The closed session documentation shows what a mess they (the city) made. They can’t get out of their web of deceptions,” he said. “The draft (report) was dated December 2009, the final March 2010, and in summer 2010 denied the public access to the document saying it was still draft, and changed their story when they got to court,” he said. “They were simply trying to avoid releasing the report.”
“The California Constitution clearly states ‘The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and therefore…the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny,’” Barth said.
In the comments there is this gem:
"I’d like to ask Encinitas residents, has it been worth it to have Glenn Sabine cost us $80,000 for the first lawsuit that he lost, or would everyone else have liked to have had them turn over the information to Kevin? To add insult to injury, they are going to take it to court a second time and lose again! Dan Dalager was in a minor league as compared to Sabine!"
From the Coast New, June 9, 2011:
