City manager outlines process after ethics complaint against Commissioner Little; commission to consider matter in public meeting
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Summary
City staff told the Board of Commissioners that resident Rebecca Martinez filed an ethics complaint alleging Commissioner Little asked the IT director to recall emails, and the commission will consider the complaint in public at its next meeting.
City staff told the Board of Commissioners that a resident, Rebecca Martinez, filed a complaint alleging a violation of the Brentwood code of ethics (identified in the briefing as section 2-233(b)) by Commissioner Little.
According to the city manager, the allegation centers on an incident in which Commissioner Little asked the IT director to recall email messages from other commissioners' inboxes out of concern about a potential public-records or sunshine-law issue after an accidental "reply all." The manager said he solicited written statements from Commissioner Little and from Sarah Van Warmer as part of preliminary fact-finding.
The city attorney told commissioners the municipal code does not specify a detailed procedure for adjudicating ethics complaints. Under the code, the commission may find that a violation has occurred, find that no violation occurred, or determine that further investigation is needed and designate an ethics officer or independent third party to conduct the inquiry.
Commissioners discussed whether they would permit follow-up questioning during the public meeting and were advised that if the commission allows questions for one party, procedural fairness would require the same opportunity be provided to the accused. The city attorney recommended that if a full "hearing" is desired, it should be noticed separately so participants and the public have clear notice.
Separately, commissioners noted staff received a second ethics complaint—described as being filed last night by attorneys for the Governor's Club—alleging misconduct by Mayor Gorman; staff said they had not yet had an opportunity to review that complaint and would not add it to the April 14 agenda.
Ending: Staff asked commissioners whether they had sufficient procedural direction for Monday's public meeting; commissioners said they had enough to proceed and staff will present the complaint and statements for the commission's consideration, with options to find a violation, find none, or order further investigation.