Official’s Short-Lived Directive Attacked

Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski sharply criticized City Manager Grant Brimhall after he tried to institute a policy requiring any council member seeking information from a city department to talk to him first.

Brimhall quickly apologized during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting for requiring each city staff member to respond to council inquiries by scheduling a conference call with him and the elected official. Brimhall said he had misunderstood an earlier City Council suggestion.

The recommendation, which came at a special City Council workshop on council procedures two weeks ago, asked that the city manager be notified of any information request by a council member so that the entire council could receive the report.

“I just want to make sure that every council member gets information [other council members request], in case they want it,” Brimhall said. “It certainly was in error. I was wrong.”

Zukowski said that she had called the city clerk’s office Tuesday and asked for a city report, only to learn from a staff member that Brimhall had instituted a new policy, which meant that a conference call would have to be arranged with the city manager. She reacted angrily, saying she wanted to see a report documenting Brimhall’s staff policies.

“It is a violation of my individual rights not to be able to go to the city clerk’s office and pick up something that any public resident can pick up,” said Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, who sided with Zukowski.

Brimhall said the policy, which he had just instituted that day, “only lasted 15 minutes” and would not happen again.