DA finds South Lake Tahoe City Council had "possible" Brown Act violations

The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office has released their review of Councilmember Brooke Laine's allegations in April that there was a "complete disregard on the part of politicians and appointed officials for state law, transparency, and honesty to the public."

The DA investigators interviewed all five councilmembers (Laine, Tom Davis, Wendy David, Austin Sass and Jason Collin), City Attorney Nir Doherty, Fire Chief Jeff Meston (who was acting city manager at the time of the investigation), Director of Finance Debbie McIntyre, former City Clerk Susan Alessi and former City Manager Nancy Kerry.

"At most it appears there were a few possible Brown Act violations in late 2017 and early 2018 concerning the failure to properly agendize items discussed in closed session, improper items being discussed and reported from closed session, and the failure to properly and accurately identify agenda topics in closed and open session," said the District Attorney's office in their letter to SLT Police Chief Brian Uhler.

The report says any Brown Act violations were due to confusion on the part of the City Council and they found no criminal violations of state law.

"I didn’t appreciate the excuse that we were confused," said Laine on Saturday. "We are a professional organization with a professional city attorney."

The DA letter to Uhler uses the word "confusion" twice while explaining their findings.

Laine did say she was happy that their findings validated what she had said and that there were violations of the Brown Act.

What is confusing about the DA's letter is their comment that the City is changing past agendas and minutes.

"As part of their efforts to correct past mistakes and avoid future problems, the minutes concerning the agendized items were later amended to correct possible errors," stated their letter to Uhler.

Agendas published prior to meetings cannot be changed after being made public. Minutes cannot be adjusted once approved by Council unless adjusted ones are put back on the agenda for a vote. It is unknown at this time if changes were actually made.

"We have done things wrong, badly and unprofessionally, and have violated
the Brown Act," said Laine. She said things have been better at the Council level since her April letter to the media, and they are paying attention and working for the public in a more professional manner.

"The right way is to always follow the process," said Laine. "Our public deserves better, and we, as elected officials, know better."

At the center of improperly agendized items is the City's contract with Municipal Resources Group and their owner, Mary Egan. She was hired to perform an assessment of the City leadership, their "effectiveness, the culture of the senior management team, succession planning status and related issues."

Her hiring was not on an open session agenda or on closed session minutes. On February 9, 2018, South Tahoe Now requested a copy of the Egan contract and received a letter dated October 9, 2017 that said her scope would include "Areas of confidential inquiry include management and communication strengths and areas for development, team effectiveness and cohesion, succession planning, and other relevant chief executive leadership topics." Her fee outlined on that October 9 letter was "not to exceed $10,000." On November 17, the City Council's agenda packet had a letter stating the fee will not go over $12,500, and in April 2018, the council voted to pay her bill of $14,000. Prior to Kerry's departure she had refused to sign a check for Egan as the contract amount had never been discussed in either open or closed session at the time.

"The agenda items and closed session topics which were potential Brown Act violations all surrounded the Mary Egan contract to conduct an assessment of the City and former City Manager Nancy Kerry," stated the DA's letter to Uhler. "It appears there may have been confusion concerning what many saw as potentially personnel issues and when they should or should not have discussions in open session. It also appears that the City Council has recognized that there may have been problems with certain actions they took and how they agendized and reported closed sessions concerning the Mary Egan contract."

The Council or Chief Uhler can still contact the Grand Jury and/or the Fair Political Practices Commission should they believe there is other improper conduct.