pages: CityCouncil/2021-06-01.pdf, 15
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CityCouncil | 2021-06-01 | 15 | a rotational basis and are not supervised by the City Attorney's Office; Hearing Officers are commonly used in other cities. Councilmember Herrera Spencer stated Section 6 under Penalties references the status quo. Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft stated the Hearing Officer may be an appropriate usage at some point; expressed support for comments made by Ms. LoPilato; stated the Commission is hard working and receives no training while being tasked with heavy lifts for the City; experienced litigators are at times stumped; training, guidance and assistance is important; an effort is currently underway to update the OGC bylaws; outlined her involvement in updating the RRAC hearing model; stated the determination to move to a Hearing Officer was largely due to renters having to share personal financial and medical information, which was not appropriate information to share in a public setting; Commissioners were not necessarily trained in order to provide the most neutral decision; certain instances of complex legal questions may require a Hearing Officer; expressed support for providing direction to have training for OGC members; stated there should not be a strained relationship between the OGC and the City Attorney's Office; communication is important; expressed support for sending the matter to the OGC in order to work out some of the recommendations with staff under a consensus model, and for a more streamlined OGC meeting process; stated there is opportunity to make matters better. Vice Mayor Vella inquired what will happen in the interim if Council sends the matter back to the OGC; questioned whether the default will be status quo; expressed support for providing direction related to training for OGC members, and for a timeline of said training and onboarding; stated that she would like to know the process for any changes to ensure the training is continuous and not a set-time training; training should occur within a set time of appointment to the OGC; inquired how many times legal issues have arisen; questioned whether the system switch is based off of a unique set of situations; stated there is a saying bad facts create bad law; she likes the suggestion of looking into a facilitated look back on the Sunshine Ordinance and its purpose; there have been a number of new laws implemented since the enactment of the Sunshine Ordinance; it is not the task of the City Attorney's Office to ensure an improvement of relationship; the solution to hearings might be a hybrid model; a number of unanimous previous Commission recommendations on how to move forward were not brought to Council; she wants to understand how the previous OGC conversations and recommendations work together; if Council sends the matter back to the OGC, she would like to understand any changes to the recommendation; inquired whether there have been two prior recommendations from the OGC. The City Attorney responded one major recommendation had been made and is included in the staff report; stated the report indicates the reasons why staff does not recommend it. Vice Mayor Vella stated if the OGC is asked to look at the City Attorney's new request, Regular Meeting Alameda City Council 14 June 1, 2021 | CityCouncil/2021-06-01.pdf |