In fact, California has open meeting laws that require “governing and other bodies of local government agencies—for example, city councils and school boards—to conduct business in a way that enables the public to scrutinize and, to a slightly lesser extent, participate in, government decisions, actions and policy choices.”
[From the California First Amendment Coalition website.]
But there have already been reports that at least some members of the Santa Clara City Council have come close to crossing—and perhaps have already crossed—the legal line in their meetings with the San Francisco 49ers.
The San Jose Mercury News first reported on this issue back on December 21, 2006—“City treads fine line in Niners meetings”—and more recently on May 4, 2007—“Santa Clara, 49ers sign confidentiality agreement”.
Byron Fleck and Karen Hardy touched on these important issues in one of their recent reports on this proposal. We’re reprinting it here with their permission.
BILLIONAIRE YORKS WANT YOUR MONEY, BUT WON’T LET YOU ASK QUESTIONS!
by J. Byron Fleck and Karen Hardy
Draw your own conclusion. We have.
Since January 2, 2007, the Mayor, Santa Clara City Council and City Manager have repeatedly assured residents that we would have ample opportunity to present our views and ask questions to the Yorks’ 49er representatives and the City Council, regarding billionaire Yorks’ request for YOUR money, to build THEM a football stadium.
One of those public opportunities was supposed to be this Tuesday, April 24. This was to be the critical council meeting where the Yorks would tell residents how much of YOUR money they want. Problem is, we residents are effectively precluded from asking questions about their request.
Why?
Because, contrary to established practice when presenting before the City Council, the Yorks elected not to distribute their financial proposal/subsidy request by the Friday before Tuesday’s Council meeting.
Because the Yorks decided to hide their request until Tuesday’s meeting, neither the Mayor, nor City Council, nor City Staff nor (most importantly) YOU, have a meaningful chance to review their request and formulate questions and comments to the people asking for YOUR money.
Meanwhile, billionaire Yorks will make their pitch in the light most favorable to them, then, presumably, jet back to Ohio or wherever, in a calculated move intended to leave us with no time to ask meaningful questions or present thoughtful views.
A billionaire “Dump and Run” is how I describe it. Perhaps Karen describes it better. “Loot and Scoot.”
Just how outrageous is the Yorks tactic?
Well, consider this. The next time you present a request to City Council for a simple garage conversion or backyard fence, just see how far you get when you refuse to present your application and drawings until the night of your hearing.
We find it inconceivable that the City of Santa Clara would allow such disrespectful tactics, and yet expect (and require) so much more from its own residents for relatively insignificant matters.
On January 29, 2007 City Staff recommended, and Council adopted on February 6, 2007, the following principle concerning the Yorks request:
“1. City Staff and 49ers staff will have the opportunity to participate in public meeting Study Sessions...These Study Sessions...[will] update and inform the Council and community of issues pertaining to the ongoing feasibility analysis.”
On December 21, 2006, The San Jose Mercury News broke a troubling report of private meetings between the Mayor, certain City Council members and 49er representatives concerning a proposed stadium in Santa Clara, thereby raising questions about possible violations of California’s open meeting rules.
Presumably stung by public concern about the private conversations, Santa Clara City Council unanimously voted on January 2, 2007 to adopt the following guideline:
“Any proposed or approved stadium project in the City of Santa Clara will be the result of a visible, public process, open to the community.”
It is clear to us that the Yorks are actively scheming to intentionally avoid public scrutiny of their subsidy request from YOUR money. That scheme is inconsistent with the principles espoused by the Santa Clara City Council, an insult to the residents they expect to fund their subsidy and a breach of good faith with our City.
1 comment:
Think about this: if you're applying for a mortgage, the bank wants to know everything about where your money comes from. Who you work for, how long have you been there, how much do you make, etc. If you recently deposited a big check from uncle Pablo, they want a letter from su tío saying this is a gift, and he does not expect you to pay him back.
You're not even asking the bank for a hand-out. You fully intend to pay them back, with interest. Oh, and a mortgage around here is, what, about $500,000?
Compare this to what the 49ers are asking for. $160,000,000 , up front. By the way, this is a hand-out, not a loan. They're not paying you back.
But you're just gonna have to trust them on the numbers. Alrighty then!
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