pages: OpenGovernmentCommission/2019-07-23.pdf, 5
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OpenGovernmentCommission | 2019-07-23 | 5 | Commissioner Little stated she thinks it is important to bring up the topic of conflict of interest again; she is curious how legal counsel, which is the same counsel defending the incident, can advise the Commission. The Assistant City Attorney stated part of the responsibilities of the City Attorney's office is to advise all boards and commissions, as well as the City Council; typically, the kinds of issues that may come up before the Open Government Commission are ones the City Attorney's office can advise on; conflict of interest has been discussed with the new City Attorney and he feels there is no conflict of interest; the City Attorney's role is to give legal advice; the Commission may accept the advice or not, but it does not mean there is a conflict of interest; it may just mean the City Attorneys has a different opinion than the majority of the Commission; unless the City Council indicates that it wishes the Open Government Commission to have outside Counsel, the intent is to continue to provide legal advice to the Commission. Commissioner Little whether Commissioner Shabazz's circumstances as the complainant create a conflict of interest, yet the City Attorney's office involvement does not. The Assistant City Attorney responded in the affirmative; stated a complainant, by definition, is not in a position to decide his or her own complaint; the City Attorney's office recognized in this particular case that the request did not get fulfilled and that there was a violation; the City Attorney's office has been up front about it and does not see a conflict of interest. Commissioner Tilos concurred with Commissioner Little; stated it could be safe to say the conflict of interest is perceived but not real; he believes the Commission is powerful enough to consider the legal advice given by the City Attorney's office without conflict and be able to form its own opinions regarding the advice. The Assistant City Attorney concurred with Commissioner Tilos; stated his office provides legal advice; the City Council and other Boards and Commissions do not always follow the advice, but it is within their prerogative; he hopes the advice being given tonight is consistent with what the Commission would follow, including adding language to the decision that indicates what should happen on a going-forward basis; he is ready to draft something for the Commission's consideration. Chair Henneberry stated he would like the Commission to make concrete recommendations in the decision. Commissioner Tilos stated he would like to see monthly or quarterly metrics about the number of requests made and fulfilled, not only for the City Attorney's office, but overall; until 100% can be seen, there is no progress toward fixing the problem or the inadvertent technical violations that could happen. Meeting of the Open Government Commission 5 July 23, 2019 | OpenGovernmentCommission/2019-07-23.pdf |