San Diego Rules Committee Meeting - February 16, 2022
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San Diego Rules Committee Meeting - February 16, 2022
The Rules Committee met virtually on February 16, 2022, at 2:00 PM. The committee considered a ballot measure to provide the city auditor and audit committee independent legal counsel, approved a five-year email retention policy, and received an update on access and transparency initiatives from the city clerk. One item was returned to staff, and another was continued to a future meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (January 19, 2022): Unanimously approved (5-0) via roll call.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Public Comment:
- Daniel Smihovski advocated for campaign finance reform, criticizing the influence of money in nonpartisan council elections.
- John Stump (District 9) urged the city to require truthfulness as a condition of employment, referencing future agenda item 3.
- Becky Rapp (parent and public health educator) expressed concern about reducing cannabis production taxes from 8% to 2%, arguing it sets a poor precedent and questions special treatment for the industry.
- Item 1 – Auditor Independent Counsel:
- Nicole Crosby (Deputy City Attorney Association) pledged good-faith meet-and-confer but supported dedicated, conflict-free government attorneys.
- John Stump raised ethical rules concerns about the city attorney representing multiple clients.
- Kyle Elser (former assistant city auditor) supported the measure, citing structural conflicts.
- Eduardo Luna (former city auditor) supported, noting federal and state precedents.
- Matt Wallstrom (Hillcrest) criticized the city attorney for delaying the process.
- Michael Aguirre (former city attorney) advocated for an ethics wall within the city attorney's office.
- Stuart Halpern (public member of audit committee) urged moving the ballot measure forward.
- Item 2 – Email Retention Policy:
- Maria Severson argued the five-year policy harms transparency, citing 101 Ash Street emails that would have been deleted.
- Andrew Bowen (San Diego SPJ) opposed, noting the city's indefinite retention is a strength; suggested a 10-year policy.
- Matt Wallstrom opposed, stating storage costs are negligible relative to the budget.
- Lori Saldania (former assembly and IT educator) argued storage costs are minimal and urged retention longer than five years, citing use of text messages to avoid records.
- Michael Aguirre opposed, calling emails the city's collective memory, vital for historical research.
- Item 3 – Access and Transparency (City Clerk Presentation):
- Lori Saldania praised City Clerk Liz Maland for her exceptional work and commitment to preserving institutional memory.
- Joan Signat (District 3) thanked the clerk for her presentation and suggested increased outreach for public participation and translation services.
- John Stump raised concerns about private email use by employees and urged testing any policy changes with the attorney general.
- Continuance of Item 4:
- Lori Saldania requested timely rescheduling of the item.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 – Proposed Ballot Measure for Auditor Independent Counsel:
- City Auditor Andy Hanows presented the proposal, citing structural conflicts in audits (e.g., 101 Ash Street, public liabilities, contract award) and the need for independent legal counsel. Estimated costs: $15,000 for ballot measure drafting, under $60,000 annually ongoing. Requested council reauthorize meet-and-confer and city attorney provide outside counsel.
- City Attorney Mara Elliott opposed, stating no legal conflict exists, the proposal is not fully vetted, and it could create accountability issues. She warned the city attorney's office would not defend actions based on outside counsel's advice.
- Councilmember Kate made a motion to support the auditor's two requests. Council President Elo-Rivera offered an amendment to vest sole authority in the audit committee (not the auditor) to determine when independent counsel is in the city's best interest. After debate – including concerns about retroactive approval and unelected committee power – the amendment passed 4-1 (Whitburn no). The main motion then passed 3-2 (Whitburn and Campillo no).
- Item 2 – Five-Year Email Retention Policy:
- CIO Jonathan Banke presented a resolution to adopt a five-year retention policy, replacing indefinite retention. Key statistics: 7.5 million new emails per month (90 million annually), storage issues, and estimated $1.2 million savings over five years. Legal holds and official records (10-year retention) would be exceptions.
- Discussion: Council President Elo-Rivera questioned handling of real estate emails. City Clerk Liz Maland confirmed official records (e.g., real estate transactions) are retained permanently or for 10 years in a separate system. Council President asked staff to explore a 10-year policy for the Real Estate and Airport Management Department. Motion by Campillo, seconded by Kate. Unanimous approval (5-0).
- Item 3 – Overview of Access and Transparency (City Clerk):
- City Clerk Liz Maland presented achievements including virtual meeting transition, expanded translation services in 200+ languages, new audio/visual voting system, digitized archives (over 1 million items), passport services, and upcoming initiatives (e-commend, JAWS, digital kiosk for Brown Act noticing). Councilmembers praised her office's work; no action required as it was an information item.
- Item 5 – Appointments to Boards and Commissions: Returned to staff due to a personal emergency, to be rescheduled.
- Item 4 – Presentation by Funds Commission: Continued to a future rules committee meeting due to time constraints, after public comment.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Motion passed 3-2, recommending the city council reauthorize the meet-and-confer process with the deputy city attorneys association and request the city attorney provide outside legal counsel for drafting the ballot measure. The measure will specify that the audit committee has sole authority to deem independent counsel necessary.
- Item 2: Resolution adopted unanimously (5-0) to implement a five-year email retention policy, replace indefinite retention, amend the master record schedule, and begin implementation February 1, 2023. Staff will explore a 10-year retention policy for the Real Estate and Airport Management Department.
- Item 5: Returned to staff for future consideration.
- Item 4: Continued to a future rules committee meeting.
- Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 2:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
All right, Council President. The webinar is live. You may be given ready. Good afternoon. Per California government code section 54953E, added by Assembly Bill 361, which allows the city to use teleconferencing and to provide the public an opportunity to address the city council via a call-in option or an internet based service option. No members of the public will be in attendance at the meeting in the interest of public health and safety. In addition, this meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website. And the council administration has made arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. We appreciate the public's cool uh continued cooperation. We will go over the specifics of how to join the webinar and will give details on how the public can offer the public testimony. I will now call the rules committee meeting of February 16, 2022 to order. And I will now call the roll. Um beginning with Vice Chair Lacaba. Present. Councilmember Whitburn. Here. Councilmember Kate. Here. And attending virtually is Councilmember Kate. Councilmember Campillo. Here. Also attending virtually. And I am also here. Also attending the meeting are IBA Representative Charles Monica, City Attorney, the City Attorney, Mar Elliott, Mayor Representative Christopher Ackerman of Vila, and Committee Consultant Brendan Dentino. Brendan, can you please go over the instructions for joining? Oh. Um, sorry about that. Before getting into the agenda, I understand that the mayor's staff is requesting item five be returned to staff to be considered for a future meeting. Is that correct? Yes, Council President, that is correct. Um this item is being returned to staff due to a personal emergency, uh, and we will work with you to get this item documented in a future uh rules committee agenda. Uh in the meantime, we will work to brief council offices on the status of appointments to boards and commissions. Uh thank you for that, uh Christopher, and we we send our um our absolute best to um to your colleague. Um Brendan, can you now go over the instructions for the joining the meeting? Yes. The public may view the meeting on public television on City TV channel 24 for Cox Communication and Time Order Cable or Channel 99 for ATT, or view the meeting online by going to the City Council Committee's home page at Sandieago.gov and selecting the City TV Live Webcast blue button on the right hand on the right hand side of the page. The committee meetings will be held virtually using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public can offer public comment on items by accessing the Zoom webinar online or using a desktop computer laptop, tablet, or smartphone, or by calling into the meeting using a smartphone, cellular phone, or landline. The link to join the committee meeting webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone is listed on the agenda. To join the Zoom webinar by telephone, please dial 1669-2545252 when prompted, input webinar ID 161-7086946 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. When I introduce the item you would like to comment on, please raise your hand by either tapping the raise your hand button on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, or by pressing star nine on your phone. You'll be taken in the order in which you raise your hand. You may only speak once on a particular item. When I indicate it is your turn to speak, I will call you by your name as it appears on the Zoom webinar attendee list, or I will read out the last four digits of your phone number if you have called into the meeting. If you have joined the webinar by computer tablet or smartphone, you will receive a pop-up notice to select to unmute your device. If you have called into the meeting by cell phone or landline, please dial star six on your phone to unmute yourself. We will review these instructions briefly briefly again when the public comment period on an item is open. Please wait until the item you wish to speak to has been called before raising your hand to speak. If you raise your hand uh during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered.
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