TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Quinn M. Barrow, City Attorney
SUBJECT:Title
Ratification of Former Human Resources Director Separation Agreement (City Attorney Barrow).
RATIFY APPROVAL OF SEPARATION AGREEMENT WITH THE FORMER HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Ratify separation agreement approved on March 17, 2015.
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BACKGROUND:
The Brown Act provides that the governing bodies of public agencies such as the Manhattan Beach City Council may enter into closed session under a number of different facts and circumstances, including to discuss threats of litigation and to authorize settlement of pending litigation. In full compliance with the Brown Act, the City Council went into closed session on March 17, 2015 to discuss a threat of litigation and to authorize settlement of that litigation. After the conclusion of the closed session, the City Attorney announced that, by a 5-0 vote, the City Council authorized a settlement agreement with the former Human Resources Director, and that the agreement was available to the public. Shortly after the closed session, the City released the agreement to the public and local media pursuant to the Public Records Act.
On June 15, 2015, the law offices of Kelly Aviles emailed a letter asserting that the City did not properly describe the closed session.
On June 22, 2015, the City proactively reached out to Ms. Aviles. Ms. Aviles was not aware of the documentation that demonstrated that the City was proceeding under a different Brown Act section than the section cited in her letter. The Brown Act's reporting requirements differ depending on the basis for entering into a particular closed session. Based upon the documentation, Ms. Aviles informed the City (and the local media) that the City acted in good faith in full compliance with the Brown Act.
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