Oxnard Council Majority Favors 5 Votes to Release Private Papers

Three members of the Oxnard City Council said Tuesday they support a policy that requires the approval of all five council members to disclose confidential documents from the city attorney’s office.

The proposal, recommended by City Atty. Gary Gillig, was set for council action on Tuesday but was put off until Oct. 9 when Councilwoman Geraldine (Gerry) Furr returns from a three-week vacation.

At a council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Nao Takasugi and council members Manuel Lopez and Dorothy Maron supported the proposal.

“We must have a way so we can challenge the opinion of the city attorney” on which memos are declared confidential, Lopez said.

However, Councilwoman Ann Johs, who recommended that a decision be delayed to allow Furr to vote on the matter, said in an interview that she opposes the proposal.

Johs said it would make it too difficult to release confidential documents and suggested that the council adopt a policy requiring the consent of only three council members to disclose such documents.

Johs raised the issue earlier this month when she criticized Gillig, saying he generates too many confidential reports and memos. She requested that the council adopt a formal policy to allow the council to release to the public private documents produced by Gillig’s office.

In a previous discussion on the matter, Johs said that 90% of the confidential memos and reports generated by Gillig should not have been confidential.

During his presentation of the proposal, Gillig defended his policy. He said he declares many of his reports and memos confidential to protect the city from criticism and litigation.

“I am conservative,” he said. “I am a conservative attorney.”

In the past two years, Gillig said his office has generated 148 confidential briefing reports to the council, of which 134 related directly to claims against the city, court cases, potential litigation and personnel issues.

The remaining 14 reports and memos concerned items of interest to the City Council and contained legal opinions and recommendations, he said.

Gillig said his confidential reports and memos are provided to the city manager, the assistant city manager and all five council members.

The city has never had a formal policy on the matter, but Gillig said he has had an informal policy that requires the consent of at least four council members before a confidential document is released. If the council adopts the proposed policy, it would become more difficult to release such a document.

Lopez said Gillig recently drafted a confidential report on the legal issue involved in forming a seven-member council that Lopez believes should never have been considered confidential. The memo, which was later released, said the city would be required to form seven council districts if it decides to increase the number of council members to seven.

The council also discussed what to do if one council member discloses a confidential document to the public without the consent of the other members.

Gillig said the cities of Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Pasadena have adopted laws, making it a misdemeanor for a person to disclose a confidential document without the consent of the entire council.

Maron said she would support a penalty for any council member who discloses a secret report but would oppose a law that puts offenders in jail.

Takasugi said a disclosure policy would be useless unless there is a penalty for violators. He suggested expelling violators from the council.

Gillig said there would also be considerable difficulty in proving such an offense. “It’s a difficult problem to solve,” he said.

The council took no action toward adopting a penalty for violators.