FRESNO, Calif. — A Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled that the Fresno City Council violated California’s open meetings law by conducting budget deliberations “behind closed doors for years, without public notice or the opportunity for residents to attend or participate,” according to a report published by the ACLU of Northern California.
According to the ACLU of Northern California, the Fresno City Council’s budget committee negotiated the city’s annual budget in secret beginning in 2018, violating the Ralph M. Brown Act, which “guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local government bodies.”
The ACLU of Northern California reported that the First Amendment Coalition and the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed the lawsuit in November 2023 after “first sending a letter demanding the city stop crafting its annual budget in secret.”
The ACLU of Northern California stated that the city argued the budget committee was an “ad hoc committee,” and therefore “not subject to the Brown Act,” despite the fact that “the Council itself voted to make it a standing committee subject to open meeting laws in a January 2023 vote.”
The report also noted the “undisputed track record of the committee operating as a standing committee before that time,” providing further support for the court’s ruling that the committee was subject to transparency laws.
According to the ACLU of Northern California, First Amendment Coalition Legal Director David Loy stated, “This ruling makes clear that secret budget committee deliberations are not just bad policy — they are illegal.”
Loy added that “Fresno residents deserve nothing short of full transparency on how their elected officials are spending taxpayer dollars,” emphasizing the importance of government transparency concerns.
The ACLU of Northern California reported that the Fresno County Superior Court confirmed the Budget Committee “is a standing committee subject to California’s open meetings law,” and ruled that the city violated the law when it failed “to post agendas, open its meetings to the public, or prepare minutes.”
According to the ACLU of Northern California, the committee was making decisions on a “record-breaking $1.87 billion budget” while giving the public no “opportunity to provide input.”
Angelica Salceda described the conduct as “a flagrant violation of the Brown Act,” according to the report.
Salceda stated, “Today’s ruling is a major victory for open government,” placing the ruling within the broader significance of public participation and government accountability.
Through its emphasis on meetings conducted “behind closed doors,” the failure “to post agendas,” and the denial of residents’ “opportunity to provide input,” the report highlights ongoing concerns regarding government transparency and the ability of the public to oversee taxpayer spending.
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