Huntington to draft transparency ordinance for city labor talks

Huntington Beach is edging closer to an ordinance intended to increase transparency in city negotiations with public employees, including police, firefighters and non-public-safety personnel.

City Council members voted 4 to 3 on Monday to direct City Atty. Michael Gates to draft an ordinance incorporating five elements:

• Use an independent negotiator.

• Publish the cost of a contract and any changes to it.

• Publish all offers and counteroffers.

• Disclose all verbal, written or electronic communications with the parties involved.

• Have the council hear a memorandum of understanding between the city and labor groups twice before final approval.

Mayor Jill Hardy and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Katapodis dissented in the vote because they want transparency rules to be a policy rather than an ordinance. A policy would allow the council to fine-tune the rules as negotiations occur. An ordinance would be more rigid.

Councilman Billy O’Connell, the third dissenting vote, said he wants transparency rules to apply to every city contract, not just those involving municipal employees.

Council members have discussed the policy vs. ordinance issue since June.

“Is one better than the other? It’s difficult to tell,” Gates said.

Councilman Erik Peterson has been adamant that he wants the rules to be an ordinance, which he says would ensure they would not be easily manipulated.

“It’s not just for the city of Huntington Beach but for government in general,” he said. “Transparency doesn’t fix the problems we already have. What it does is it holds us, as the executives here, responsible for what we’re voting on. It’s actually a tool for us, to give us the information we need to make informed decisions.”