SUNSHINE ORDINANCE TASK FORCE
EDUCATION, OUTREACH AND TRAINING COMMITTEE
MINUTES
Thursday, October 8, 2009
4:00 p.m., City Hall, Room 406
Committee Members: Sue Cauthen (Chair), Doyle Johnson, Marjorie Ann Williams
Call to Order: 4:00 p.m.
Roll Call: Present: Cauthen, Johnson
Excused: Williams
Agenda Changes: None
Deputy City Attorney: Frank Brass
Clerk: Chris Rustom
1. |
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Adoption of September 10, 2009, regular meeting minutes.
Motion to adopt September 10, 2009, regular meeting minutes ( Johnson / Cauthen)
Public Comment: None
On the motion:
Ayes: Johnson, Cauthen
Excused: Williams
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2. |
09030 |
Hearing on the status of the July 28, 2009, Order of Determination of Ann Grogan against the Police Commission.
Complainant Ann Grogan was not present. Respondent Lt. Joe Reilly was also not present but had submitted a letter saying he was not able to attend because he was out of town. Chair directed clerk to forward respondent’s email to the complainant.
Continued to the next regular monthly meeting.
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3 |
09052 |
Hearing on the status of the September 22, 2009, Order of Determination of Charles Pitts against the Shelter Monitoring Committee.
Complainant Charles Pitts said he has not seen the main perpetrator of the violation since he filed the complaint but is under the impression that he is still working for the City and County of San Francisco and is not being held accountable for his actions. He also said many members of the Shelter Monitoring Committee have not taken the Sunshine training.
Respondent Bernice Casey, a policy analyst for the Shelter, said she has taken several steps, including encouraging committee members to meet the Sunshine training requirements, advising them of the right of the public to speak at public meetings, requesting training from the Task Force’s Education, Outreach and Training Committee, and rewriting language used in the agenda. She said emphasis is being placed on training because the violation occurred because of a lack of it. The Committee agreed to make a presentation Dec 12, 2009, at 10 a.m. in Rm. 421 at City Hall.
In rebuttal, Mr. Pitts said the committee members certainly need the training because the Sunshine Ordinance has other aspects besides the right of members of the public to speak at meetings. He also wanted the Shelter Monitoring Committee to inform former Chair Quintin Mecke about his violation because he could make the same mistake again as he is still involved in city politics.
Ms. Casey said Mr. Pitts was welcome to attend the EOTC training meeting, that she was familiar with the Ordinance because she previously was the committee’s secretary and that Mr. Mecke is now a private citizen and she does not know his whereabouts.
After further discussion, Chair Cauthen said no further action was required.
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4 |
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Planning Department, Public Library, Department of Public Works and Sunshine compliance
Chair Cauthen said she and many other have submitted Immediate Disclosure Requests to the said departments and have found that the respondents were not aware of the Ordinance’s requirements. She wanted to know what could be done to make departments aware of their responsibilities. She asked if she should she recuse herself.
DCA Brass said the departments’ response could be best used as a vehicle but full disclosure was needed and that it would be best left to the department to determine if they need Sunshine training. However, he said, the committee could offer a refresher course.
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5 |
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Department head calendars: How to assure compliance
Chair Cauthen said the City Librarian sometimes has a lot scheduled on his calendar but never provides information about who he meets after he cancels one or more appointments.
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6 |
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Outreach for Sunshine presentations.
Chair Cauthen suggested members spend more time responding to questions rather than telling departments what the Ordinance says. She also said the presentations should be based around the Order of Determination if it involves a department that the Task Force had found to be in violation.
Member Johnson said he took a similar approach during the last presentation and suggested taking along a copy of the complaint and the Order of Determination.
On other Outreach issues, Chair Cauthen said she was scheduled to make certain contacts but was unable to do so.
Member Johnson said he was also unable to make certain contacts because he was out of state, at a funeral and had some medical issues
Matter continued to next regularly scheduled meeting.
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7. |
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SFPUC’s Sunshine procedures
Chair Cauthen suggested finalizing the changes that has been made and sending the document back to the department. Member Doyle agreed.
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8. |
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Update: YBR printing issues
Member Johnson said the font size has been increased. He is awaiting the approval for the use of the seal of the City & County of San Francisco.
DCA Brass said DCA Jerry Threet’s opinion was that approval would be granted because of the low number of copies and the low cost involved.
Member Johnson also added that YBR would be distributing the flyer at City events free of charge and until the stock of 5,000 is exhausted.
Matter moved to full Task Force.
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9. |
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Results of contact with neighborhood newspaper editors
Matter continued to next regularly scheduled meeting.
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10 |
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Public comment on items not listed on the agenda: None
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11. |
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Committee members’ comments, questions, and requests for future agenda items (no attachment)
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Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 p.m. |
This meeting has been audio recorded and is on file in the office of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force