Long Beach Vows to Meet Brown Act Public Notices

Cities now have the option of becoming a lot more secretive -- if they choose. But the City of Long Beach this week said it won't.

Last month, the state legislature suspended the Brown Act mandate that local jurisdictions -- cities, counties, school districts, water districts and special districts -- post meeting agendas for the public. The suspension also allows local jurisdictions to forgo reporting to the public about actions taken during closed-session meetings.

How many California municipalities will choose to abandon the transparency mandates is unknown, but locally the plans are to continue serving the residents.

Long Beach deputy city attorney Charlies Parkin told Patch city hall intends to keep residents notified as they've always done.  

“The city's not going to make any changes as to the Brown Act," Parkin said.

"The open meeting law and noticing and provisions and things, I think it's
certainly not clear what the impact the state (change in reimbursement for Brown Act costs) has at this time.

The League of California Cities is expected to release an official statement on the issue next week, but the organization’s Communications Director Eva Spiegel said for now the suggestion to cities is “stick with the status quo.

“The League has been very involved with the Brown Act,” she said. “We have always encouraged transparency.”

How the state came to the decision of suspending the Brown Act mandates boiled down to one thing: money. In California, mandates placed on local jurisdictions by Sacramento must be funded by the state. In the case of the Brown Act mandates, the state was subsidizing nearly $100 million a year by some estimates.

So in an effort to cut expenditures, the state decided to suspend the mandates.

Long Beach's Parkin noted that it will be following what the League of Cities does in regard to the Brown Act.

"At some point in the future if the California League of Cities or some other
entity does some sort of analysis," he added, Long Beach would assess that for future direction.

But Sacramento Bee political columnist Dan Walters blogs that despite rumors and concerns about government transparency, the impact on state reimbursement of any Brown Act compliance costs has been greatly exaggerated; it may end up stronger, he says here.