City Accused of Invading Privacy

City Councilwoman Joanne Baltierrez has filed a claim accusing the city of invading her privacy and causing her emotional distress by failing to investigate the source of a leak that led to the public disclosure of her water bill records, a claim that the city rejects.

Baltierrez, a former mayor of this northeastern Valley city of 24,000 residents, is seeking unspecified damages based on at least seven charges.

She said her claim was motivated not by money but by a desire to compel the city to investigate and institute a training program for city employees on ethics and privacy issues.

“They didn’t just violate my rights, they violated the rights of 32 other residents of the city when they released this list,” Baltierrez said, referring to documents presented by political activist Juana Mojica at an October City Council meeting. “We need to make sure that this never happens again.”

The documents named individuals who were more than a month behind in the payment of their water bills.

Baltierrez was formally censured by the City Council in December after a critical city attorney report concluded that she improperly ducked the financial penalties for paying her water bills late.

San Fernando City Atty. Arnoldo Beltran said the city received the claim in January and promptly rejected it. Baltierrez has until June to decide if she will file a formal lawsuit against the city, he said.

In his December report, Beltran said the city should not investigate the source of the leak because the employee or employees responsible were shielded by “whistle-blower” laws.

“I have seen no new facts to persuade me or the council to change that decision,” he said.

“Basically, her case doesn’t hold any water, it has no merit” said Mayor Raul Godinez II , with whom Baltierrez has frequently sparred on city policy issues.

“Frankly, I can’t believe she is still bringing this up. The council has moved past this. There are other issues that we need to address.”

But Baltierrez, who has admitted using poor judgment by not paying her bills on time, said Thursday that the city “has a responsibility to train employees as to the appropriate ethical behavior in regard to private information.”

She vowed not to file a formal lawsuit against the city if the council majority agreed to investigate the leak and establish an ethics program for city employees that would guard against future leaks that could expose the city to lawsuits.

“The leadership in San Fernando today is not taking care of business themselves,” Baltierrez said. “If we have to take it to another level, then that’s what we are going to do.”

The council did institute a program to educate employees about workplace harassment, privacy and public record issues, said San Fernando Administrative Services Manager Saul Gomez. City Hall employees received that training several weeks ago, he said.

“At least part of what she says she is trying to accomplish has already been addressed,” Godinez said. “It’s upsetting because it’s going to cost the city money to address this claim.”