Open Meetings Violation Report by Ron West
Open Meetings Violation Report by Ron West
At the beginning of each NRH City Council Meeting, Mayor Trevino reads a statement stating that the council will not permit citizen input on any agenda item and that the council cannot consider anything that is not on the agenda - ostensibly because of Open Meetings laws! This should mean that the Mayor and the Council is fully aware of such laws and therefore should obey them.
Unfortunately for the citizens of North Richland Hills, Texas, such is not the case. The following is a scanned copy of the required public notice for the recent $25,000 meeting in Paradise, Texas that produced the Strategic Goals 2010 document previously published on this site. The goals portion of the meeting is rather cryptically listed on the agenda as the only item to be discussed.
If the meeting had stopped with only discussions of goals, it would not have been a violation of the Open Meetings laws. Unfortunately, it basically ignored the published agenda and the meeting was started off with a discussion of "Rules" to be imposed on City Council members. This was clearly not part of the agenda and certainly would not fall under "discussion and setting of goals". As a matter of fact, all of the following information was not covered by the published agenda but was the work of the rather secretive meeting announced above. The following information is from the last four pages of the expensive 16 page report resulting from the meeting beginning with Page 13: (the information in blue type has been added by me.)
North
Richland Hills Mayor and Council
2005 Code of Conduct - House Rules
Do your homework and be prepared for each meeting.
(This could be difficult because City Council people
are now advised of agenda's until late Thursday preceding each Council meeting
on the following Monday.)
Support council decisions regardless of individual opinions.
(This is part of what I called a "gag" order.)
Consider issues based on what's best for the City of North Richland Hills rather
than political considerations.
Be truthful. (We should not expect otherwise should
we?)
Focus on vision, goals and targets in making our decisions.
(Don't forget that we want to raise tax revenue.)
Be open with communications. (Wouldn't that be a
nice change?)
Agree to disagree. (If you are in the minority, your
opinion won't count anyway.)
Debate pending issues in the council environment. (This
would also be a nice change. There is very, very little public discussion
or debate on any ordinance or issue.)
Treat others as you would like to be treated (Treat others with respect).
(I wonder if this is supposed to apply to the Mayor and
the way he treats the citizens that disagree with him?)
Allow each other to discuss items fully. (OK, Mr.
Mayor, how about really doing this?)
Don't blindside staff, council and others. (It is OK
for City staff to require blind approval of their actions.)
Respect confidentiality of executive sessions.
(In
other words, don't let the citizens know what is going on.)
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North Richland Hills Mayor and Council
2005 Governance Process Actions
Action 1: Information
Sharing
Among the Mayor and City Council
The Mayor and City Council members are responsible for sharing
information
with all Mayor and City Council - same information and message;
for communicating in a timely manner. (In other
words, the Mayor does not want any council member to surprise him with questions
or issues.)
From City Manager
City Manager shares all information with Mayor, Mayor Pro Tern.
On major issues or "crises," the City Manager(s) will share same
information
with Mayor and City Council.
(It is
nice to know that in the event of a crisis, the City Council will at least be
informed of the situation.)
Action 2: Direction to City Manager
Council Direction
The direction from the Mayor and City Council will be summarized:
Mayor summarizes motion.
If Council is unclear, ask the City Manager to summarize his
understanding of the direction. (Probably should be
directive.)
If City Manager is unclear, the City Manager should ask the
Council to
summarize or clarify.
Council direction is based upon majority vote and done in public
session.
Alternative Direction
If the City Manager perceives that he is receiving direction from
an individual
elected official or direction different than the Council
direction, he is to bring the matter to the Mayor and City Council for
clarification and/or direction at a public meeting.
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Action 3: Request Beyond Information for Citizen
Complaints and Concerns
If the City Council member or Mayor has a request for
significant staff time, the individual should bring it to the Council for
direction to the City Manager/City Attorney. (This
is another part of what I called a "gag order".)
If the City Manager/City Attorney receives a request from the Mayor
or an individual Council member for tasks requiring staff time, the City Manager
should bring the request to the Council for direction.
(In other words, the City Manager does not have to
respond to individual elected council members if he doesn't want to.)
Action 4: Reminder:
Council = Policy; Manager = Implementation
Mayor and City Council reminded themselves: City
Manager manages staff; elected officials focus on policy and should not
interfere with management.
(Leave Mr. Cunningham alone. It takes a lot of time to spend a $4.8
Million slush fund without any specific requirements for the spending.)
Action 5: Consistent Treatment
There should be consistent treatment (eliminate any
double standard or perceived double standard) of each elected official and any
citizens, regardless of their position on an Issue.
(Here again, wouldn't that be a nice change!)
If Council sees an inconsistency, the individual is responsible to help
the Chair (Mayor, Mayor Pro Tern) by bringing the matter to their attention.
(That should work if the Mayor would recognize
anyone who tried to bring it to his attention.)
Action 6: Code of Conduct Applies to All
The Code of Conduct - House Rules should apply to:
Mayor and City Council; city staff and citizens making presentations and
comments. The Chair (Mayor, Mayor Pro Tern) shall notify speakers of council
rules and procedures and enforce it when necessary.
(This is the same code of conduct that allows citizens 2 or 3 minutes to address
any issue not on the agenda but allows the Mayor and Council people unlimited
time to berate such citizens as they see fit.)
Action 7: Citizen Comments (Non-formal public hearing)
When citizens are allowed to speak on an issue,
other opinions may be presented. If Council questions opening an issue for
input, the Council member can apply to Chair.
(So far all examples of this are the one sided expounding
by the Mayor and Council members to beat up on citizens they disagree with.)
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Action 8: Interpersonal Problem
If you have a problem/question with another elected
official, go to them first.
( This would assume
that they would extend you the courtesy of listening to either your question or
problem.)
Action 9: Recognition Letter
Encourage letters to come from Mayor and City
Council. (As an individual member of the Council,
please keep your comments regarding employees to yourself.)
Action 10: Report from City Representatives
Representative should use "Information Section" to
report on issues, actions, etc.
(By using this section of Council Meeting for this
purpose, Council members are precluded from making comments or asking
questions.)
2005 Code of Conduct - House Rules - North Richland Hills Mayor and Council 2005 Governance Process Actions were not listed as agenda items per the Open Meetings requirements therefore the meeting was in violation of the law. Not unusual for the current incumbents and they know that no one is enforcing the law anyway, so they do whatever they want to do - citizens and the law not withstanding.
We have a right to elected representation that obeys the law - not an outlaw government. Please keep this in mind as you choose who to vote for in the upcoming elections for City Council.