Potential transparency ordinance, advisory panel appointments take hours of City Council's time

Lately, a significant number of City Council meeting hours have involved two matters: discussion of an ordinance to provide more transparency in labor negotiations and an overhaul of five city advisory panels with appointments that disappointed some critics.

A Civic Openness in Negotiations ordinance has been on council agendas since proposed by Craig Young in December.

As adopted by the county and other cities, the ordinances “are intended to increase government transparency by requiring public disclosure of certain aspects of labor negotiations with public employee unions,” according to City Attorney Todd Litfin.

Such ordinances require the public release of offers and counteroffers from closed-door negotiations and using outside negotiators instead of top-level staff to represent the city.

Outside negotiators avoid perceived conflicts of interest, since city management usually receive the same salary and benefit increases that are negotiated for employees.

An obstacle to possible adoption of a similar ordinance is an “unfair labor practices” complaint against the county by the Orange County Employees Association, which also represents 69 of 96 Yorba Linda employees.

Changes to the collective bargaining process, Litfin noted, “could trigger a legal challenge from the city's employee unions,” so he suggested awaiting the outcome of the complaint, which could take six to 12 months, “potentially longer if appealed.”

Council also spent nearly 15 hours in five special meetings interviewing 55 applicants for 20 commission and up to nine landscape committee slots.

Thirteen individuals were reappointed, three didn't seek retention, six were dropped and eight new members were added. Selected library commissioners weren't formally appointed, since council might expand the panel to seven members.

The new planning commission lineup: reappointed Bob Lyons, Bob Pease, Karalee Watson; dropped Jim Nebel, Jim Wohlt; added J. Minton Brown, Dan Mole.

New parks and recreation lineup: reappointed Doug Dickerson, Stewart Rixson, Tom Watts; dropped Doug Knarr; added Tara Campbell, Sandy McKinney. Terri Memole didn't reapply.

New traffic lineup: reappointed Nathaniel Behura, Jerry Brakebill; dropped Mary Carbone; added Ed Camarena, Clint Kirkwood, Lynn Melton. Mark Long and Al Yalda didn't reapply.

New library lineup will be reappointed Carin Benner, Cheri Hansen and Natalie Odebunmi, joined by reappointments Marilyn Adams and Randi Noell and new appointees Ryan Bent and Debbie Burks, if the body expands. If not, two will be chosen from the latter four.

New landscape lineup: reappointed Eileen Barme, Bobbi Cooper, Greg Gianelli, Bill Schuler. Dan Hildebrandt also was reappointed but resigned soon after, blasting council's decision to drop Judy Murray and Ken Peterson, past council candidates who opposed current council members, among other objections. Newly named was Randy Kuroda.