STATE CAPITOL SACRAMENTO CA 951314 19161651-4022

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SENATOR

KEVIN DE LE6N

TWENTY-SECOND SENATE DISTRICT

October 28, 2011 Vernon City Council Hilario Gonzales, Mayor William 1. Davis, Mayor Pro Tem W. Michael McCormick, Councilmember
Richard 1. Maisano, Councilmember
Daniel J. Newmire, Councilmember

RE: Appointment Process for Key City Staff

Mr. Mayor and Councilmembers: ( write to express my concerns regarding a motion at your last council hearing to make your current Interim City Attorney permanent. and the advice that the Interim City Attorney Michael Montgomery provided all of you. Such a motion was an egregious violation of your own resolution adopted on August 25th to ensure transparency and public notice on all prominent service contracts. Furthermore, the advice provided by Mr. Montgomery created the appearance of self-dealing that the City cannot afford. The motion to hire Mr. Montgomery lacked prior public notice, was not agendized, and the specifics of his contract compensation were not disclosed. The very first demand item on page five of my August 22 nd demand letter that you adopted on August 25 th focused on greater accountability and transparency. Specifically, in sub-item vii on page 5 of the demand letter calls for the City to do the following: "Establishes an open and competitive bidding process on service and personal service contracts that is prominently posted on the City's Web-site, and that requires the details to those contracts to be prominently posted on the City's Web site at least seven days prior (emphasis added) to Council approval." Given that City Attorney is one of the two most important executive positions within any city, a contract for a permanent City Attorney would obviously fall within the public notice requirements in this section. It's my understanding that when the motion was offered to make Mr. Montgomery the City's permanent City Attorney, he opined that it was both legal and appropriate. Yet, such a motion was an obvious violation of the City's transparency commitment made just two months ago and formally adopted by the Council itself. As a result, the Council cannot in fact hire Mr. Montgomery as the City of Vernon's pennanent City Attorney without appropriate public notice. Advice to the contrary was not only incorrect but represents a troubling end-run on the City'S commitment to transperancy.

Appointment Process for Key Vernon Staff

October 28, 20 II
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My other concern with Mr. Montgomery's advice is that because it pertained directly to his own financial enrichment, any attempt to offer formal advice to the City would constitute a conflict of interest. I plan to refer the matter to the California State Bar for their review. While I'm not in a position at this time to determine whether Mr. Montgomery's action in fact constituted an ethical violation for which he can be disciplined or prosecuted, I don't think there's any question that his advice smacked of self-dealing and was flatly incorrect. The City of Vernon needs a City Attorney of impeccable character who will steer the City in a prudent and transparent manner. That standard simply wasn't met in this situation. I strongly urge you to review your own action on August 25 th and in the future make certain that all significant hiring or contracting decisions be made only after an exhaustive and lengthy public search of possible candidates, and that the details of such hiring proposals be made public at least a week in advance of any council decision to authorize such hiring. Clearly, the City Attorney position is the first place to apply that open and transparent policy. I urge the Council to follow Mr. Van de Kamp's recommendations that the Council hire a search firm to identify specific needs for the City Attorney position, run a search process identifying outstanding candidates, interview 5-10 of the top ranked candidates and run a full background check on the top candidate for the City to consider. Only after that is completed and adequate public notice is provided should the Council select a permanent City Attorney. The City is on a path to a brighter future and these steps are vital to building greater public confidence in its leadership. We have much work to do. I look forward to working with you on this process and insuring that the commitments made on August 25 th are honored. Sincerely,

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Twenty-Second Senate District