Title
Provide Direction on Letter to the Presiding Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court in Response to the 2018-19 Alameda County Grand Jury Final Report. (City Manager 2110)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Alameda County Grand Jury report cited four (4) findings and four (4) recommendations. The attached letter provides alternative responses to the Grand Jury Report.
BACKGROUND
On June 24, 2019, the Alameda County Grand Jury released a report (Exhibit 1) on its investigation into the hiring process of a new Fire Chief after the position became vacant in 2017. The investigation focused on accusations of undue influence on the former City Manager, during the Fire Chief hiring process, in violation of the City Charter.
The City of Alameda (City) would like to thank the Grand Jury for its work and recommendations moving forward.
The Grand Jury report found that two Councilmembers violated the City Charter by attempting to influence the Fire Chief selection, and that the incident and related controversy resulted in significant losses to the City, both financially and with the departure of key personnel. The report further concluded that the Grand Jury "believes [the conduct at issue] does not warrant moving forward with formal Accusation proceedings" to remove Councilmembers from Office.
One clarification to the Grand Jury report is that the vote to settle with the City Manager on her claim was a 3 - 2 vote (with former Mayor Spencer and Council Member Vella voting no).
The City is required to respond to the Grand Jury's Findings and Recommendations within 90 days of receiving the report.
DISCUSSION
Pursuant to California Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05, the City Council is required to respond to Findings 19-1 through 19-4 and Recommendations 19-1 through 19-4 in the Grand Jury's report.
The findings and recommendations are summarized below. In addition, the City Attorney and City Manager are...
Click here for full text