BUENA PARK : Mayor Denies City Broke Meetings Law

Mayor Donald L. Bone on Tuesday denied charges that the City Council violated the state open meetings law when it met in closed session in early February to discuss hiring a consultant.

The charges that the council violated the law were made in a letter by a resident to the Orange County district attorney. They stem from a controversial council decision May 16 to close the city Fire Department and contract with the county for fire protection and paramedic services.

The consultant, Robert W. Kuznik, was paid $10,000 to review and verify the information contained in a study that would be used to decide whether to contract with the county for fire services, officials said.

Bone said that no vote was taken during the closed meeting and that the city manager had the authority to hire the consultant. He said the council directed City Manager Kevin O’Rourke to hire Kuznik but that the council’s instructions did not constitute a vote.

“There was never a vote taken to hire the consultant,” Bone said.

O’Rourke added that the council met to discuss the consultant’s capability and cost in closed session because some of the documents they referred to had to do with negotiating labor issues with the Orange County Fire Department. The open meetings law, known as the Brown Act, permits those issues to be confidential, O’Rourke said.

Marc Kelly, deputy district attorney, said Tuesday that he is reviewing a response from the mayor to see if he will pursue any action.

Max Schulman, who wrote the letter to the district attorney, said he remains convinced the Brown Act was violated and that some enforcement action would be appropriate.