THE ROLE OF THE CITIZENS’ OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Presented by: Valerie Pitts Superintendent
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- Slide 1
- THE ROLE OF THE CITIZENS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Presented by:
Valerie Pitts Superintendent
- Slide 2
- PROPOSITION 39 REQUIREMENTS 1.Citizen Oversight Committee
2.Uses of Bond Proceeds 3.Audit Requirements 4.New Cause of
Action
- Slide 3
- CITIZENS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE (COC) What Is Scope of COC
Authority? Who Should Serve on COC? What Technical Assistance Must
Be Provided to COC? What Information Does the COC Need? What are
Legal Requirements for COC Members and Meetings?
- Slide 4
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY Roles and Responsibilities The Board of
Trustees The Citizens Oversight Committee Staff
- Slide 5
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Evaluates school
facilities needs Approves additions or alterations to existing
buildings Determines when new facilities are needed Selects and
acquires sites Determines the method of financing
- Slide 6
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES (contd): Approves
selection of architects and engineers Authorizes projects for bid
Awards contracts for design and construction Approves change orders
to construction contracts Accepts completed facilities
projects
- Slide 7
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES (contd): For a
Prop. 39 Bond: Places bond measure on ballot Appoints COC
Establishes guidelines for the COC Approves bond program project
list and an implementation plan
- Slide 8
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES (contd): Shall
ensure Prop. 39 expenditures are for listed projects: Construction,
rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities Furniture and
equipment Acquisition or lease of real property
- Slide 9
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES (contd): For a
Prop. 39 Bond, Board must evaluate: Safety Class size reduction
Information technology
- Slide 10
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY DIRECTIVE FOR COC: Review annual
performance audit Review annual financial audit Inspection of
school facilities and grounds to ensure expenditures are for listed
projects Annual and final reports to Board of Trustees on
findings
- Slide 11
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY COC RESPONSIBILITIES: Review District
efforts to maximize bond revenues through implementation of cost
containment measures Professional fees Site preparation Joint use
of facilities Design efficiencies Reusable facilities plans
- Slide 12
- SCOPE OF COC AUTHORITY COC RESPONSIBILITIES (contd.): Provide
an annual progress report to the Board of Trustees and the public
Provide a final report to the Board of Trustees and the public at
the completion of all projects Review deferred maintenance reports
and plans
- Slide 13
- SELECTION OF COC MEMBERS Appointed by the Board of Trustees
Within 60 days of certification of election Required by Proposition
39
- Slide 14
- SELECTION OF COC MEMBERS Represent the following Business
organization Taxpayers organization Senior citizens organization
Parents and Guardians Parents active in support of the District,
such as a member of a PTA or School Site Council
- Slide 15
- SELECTION OF COC MEMBERS (contd.) Serve for 2-year term with
maximum two consecutive terms Shall not include: Any District
employee or official Any District vendor, contractor, or consultant
Any person with a conflict of interest
- Slide 16
- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO COC Internet information posting Brown
Act agendas and minutes Professional advice Financial and progress
reports Audits
- Slide 17
- COC LEGAL COMPLIANCE Brown Act compliance Conflicts of Interest
Form 700
- Slide 18
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Purposes: To keep the public informed of
the actions, debates and views of locally elected representatives;
and To provide the procedural framework for local legislators to
meet, debate, act, and listen collectively to their
constituents
- Slide 19
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Act applies to: A member of the
legislative body of a local agency (Gov. Code Section 54952.1)
Commission Committee Board or other Body whether Permanent or
Temporary Decision-making or Advisory Established by charter,
ordinance, resolution, or formal action of the Board (Gov. Code
Section 54952)
- Slide 20
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Meetings: Any congregation of a majority
of members of a legislative body at the same time and place to
hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the
subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body; or Any use of
direct communication, personal intermediaries, or technological
devices that is employed by a majority of the members of the
legislative body to develop a collective concurrence (Gov. Code
Section 54952.2)
- Slide 21
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Meetings specifically exclude: Telephone
conversations between a member and any other person (including
another member); Appearance of majority at a general conference
open to the public involving a discussion of broad issues and
attended by a broad spectrum of officials from a variety of
governmental agencies; Attendance at open and publicized meetings,
organized to address a topic of local concern by a person or
organization other than the local agency;
- Slide 22
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Meetings specifically exclude (contd):
Social or ceremonial occasions; Attendance by a majority at open
and noticed meetings of another body of the same local agency or
any other agency; Attendance by a majority at an open and noticed
meeting of the board, if members of the committee attend only as
observers (Gov. Code Section 54952.2)
- Slide 23
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Direct communication, personal
intermediaries, or technological devices include: Telephone,
electronic mail, facsimile, internet; Communication through an
intermediary
- Slide 24
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Common scenarios of which to be aware:
E-mail messages in which majority is copied; Consecutive
conversations through intermediary to poll the committee; Telephone
conference calls involving a majority of the committee; Internet
chat rooms
- Slide 25
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Agenda Posting By staff Exceptions to
Agenda Requirements: Emergency (majority vote); Need to take
immediate action arose after agenda posted (2/3 vote, unanimous if
less than 2/3 of committee present); Responding to questions;
Asking for clarification; Making a brief announcement of report of
activity
- Slide 26
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Meeting Location Meeting place must be
within District boundaries, with limited exceptions that are not
applicable (Gov. Code Section 54954); Meeting place must be
accessible to public (nondiscriminatory, accessible to disabled, no
payment or purchase required); Teleconferencing must be from a
publicly accessible location; a quorum must be within District
boundaries
- Slide 27
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Public Rights Any person attending may
videotape unless disruptive; Public may comment on agenda items
before or during consideration of the item; Time must be set aside
for public comment on any other matters under the committees
jurisdiction; The committee may place reasonable time limitations
on particular topics or speakers;
- Slide 28
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Public Rights Any person may criticize the
policies, procedures, programs, or services of the District; The
public may also criticize committee or Board members or District
employees; The committee need not permit comments or conduct that
disrupts the meeting; Penal Code Section 403 prohibits acts that
disturb or break up a lawful assembly or meeting
- Slide 29
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Public Rights McMahon v. Albany S.D.
(2002) 104 Cal.App.4 th 1275: His conduct of dumping gallons of
garbage on the floor of a schoolroom during a school board meeting
was sufficient to support an arrest for disturbing a public meeting
and was not speech protected by the First Amendment.
- Slide 30
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Closed Session Probably does not apply to
the committee
- Slide 31
- BROWN ACT COMPLIANCE Liability for Violations Misdemeanor
liability exists if there is intent to deprive public Public can
sue to stop violation of Brown Act Agency must be given opportunity
to cure Nullification of action taken in violation
- Slide 32
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Four areas of the law control conflicts
of interest of California public officials: The California
Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code Section 87100, et seq.,
CPRA) Gov. Code Section 1080, et. seq. Common Law Conflict of
Interest Gov. Code Section 1126, et. Seq. (Incompatible
Offices)
- Slide 33
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The CPRA Public officials/employees may
not participate in making, or in any way attempt to use their
official position to influence, a governmental decision in which
they know or have reason to know they have an economic
interest
- Slide 34
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The CPRA To determine whether a conflict
of interest exists under CPRA, five questions must be asked: Is a
public official involved? Does the official have a statutory
defined economic interest? Is the official making, participating in
the making of, or using his or her official position to influence
the making of a governmental decision?
- Slide 35
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The CPRA (contd.) Is it reasonably
foreseeable that the decision could materially affect the officials
economic interest? Will the effect of the decision on the public
officials economic interest be distinguishable from its effect on
the public generally?
- Slide 36
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The CPRA If the question to all of the
foregoing questions is yes, a conflict of interest exists and the
conflicted individual may need to resign from the committee
Transactions must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis pursuant to
regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)
- Slide 37
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Gov. Code Section 1090 Prohibits public
officials/ employees from participating in the process by which a
contract is developed, negotiated, or executed if the official or
employee has a financial interest in the contract These contracts
are void and cannot be enforced (Gov. Code Section 1092)
- Slide 38
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Gov. Code Section 1090 Section 1090 also
prohibits board members and employees from selling goods or
services to their school district Section 1090 does not define when
an official is financially interested in a contract; however,
courts have applied the prohibition to include a broad range of
interests Section 1090, et. seq., enumerates certain remote and
non-interests that, once disclosed, do not prevent an officer from
participating in the making of a contract
- Slide 39
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The Common Law (Case Law) Prohibits
public officials/employees from placing themselves in a position in
which they might be tempted by their own private interest to
disregard the interests of the public The common law conflict of
interest doctrine also prohibits conflicts that create the
appearance or impression of impropriety Public officers and
employees should avoid interactions or dealings that might suggest
that their actions are not in the best interest of the public
- Slide 40
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The Common Law (Case Law) The common law
conflict of interest doctrine applies even where a decision might
otherwise appear to benefit the District Underlying all conflict of
interest provisions is the maxim that a person cannot
simultaneously serve two masters
- Slide 41
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Gov. Code Section 1126 (Incompatible
Offices) Prohibits public officials/employees from engaging in any
employment, activity, or enterprise for compensation that is
inconsistent, incompatible, in conflict with, or inimical to their
duties as public officials/employees.
- Slide 42
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Reporting Annual Report of Economic
Interests In order to identify and avoid potential conflicts of
interest, the CPRA requires that designated public officials
disclose interests that could impact their decision- making by
filing a Statement of Economic Interest, Form 700
- Slide 43
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Form 700 Your Duty to File a Form 700
Statement of Economic Interest District policy and state law
identify public officials who must file a Form 700 Those public
officials must disclose certain assets and income Certain types of
gifts, honoraria and loans are prohibited Filers may not accept
gifts totaling more than $390 in a calendar year from a single
source
- Slide 44
- USES OF BOND PROCEEDS What are permissible uses of Proposition
39 bond funds?
- Slide 45
- USES OF BOND PROCEEDS Construction, rehabilitation or
replacement of school facilities Furniture and equipment
Acquisition or lease of real property Limited to project list
adopted by Board before the election Ballot measure is like a
contract with the voters Projects need not be listed on short
ballot measure Incorporate projects in Implementation Plan
- Slide 46
- USES OF BOND PROCEEDS For a Proposition 39 bond, what
constitutes the list all bond- funded projects? The 75-word ballot
measure does not have to list all bond- funded projects
- Slide 47
- USES OF BOND PROCEEDS The Board can satisfy the Prop. 39
constitutional accountability requirements by preparing and making
available the required project list Committee for Responsible
School Expansion v. Hermosa Beach City School District (2006) 142
Cal.App.4 th 1178
- Slide 48
- USES OF BOND PROCEEDS The Board can satisfy Prop. 39
accountability requirements by stating in the bond measure: It
evaluated safety, class size reduction, and information technology
It will perform required audits The types of projects it will
perform Foothill-DeAnza Community College District v. Emerich
(2007) 158 Cal.App.4 th 11
- Slide 49
- USES OF BOND PROCEEDS In developing list of projects, Board
must evaluate: Safety Class size reduction Information technology
Proceeds may be used for some salaries, but not for: Teacher or
administrator salaries Other operating expenses
- Slide 50
- USES OF BOND PROCEEDS Proposition 39 bond funds may pay:
District employee salaries to the extent employees are engaged in
construction- related projects Bond issuance and preparation costs
Costs incidental, but directly related, to bond-funded projects
Community Advocates for Responsible Education v. San Lorenzo Valley
Unified School District (May 26, 2006) 139 Cal. App. 4 th 1356,
affirming 87 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 157 (2004)
- Slide 51
- AUDIT REQUIREMENTS Annual independent audits Fiscal Performance
Auditor selection
- Slide 52
- NEW CAUSE OF ACTION To restrain and prevent expenditure of
funds Failure to comply with Prop. 39 expenditure limits or to
appoint a COC By any citizen liable to pay the tax