Sec. 201. - Access to public meetings and public records.
City agencies, boards, commissions, committees, officials, staff and officers, including the Mayor and members of the City Council, exist to conduct the people's business. It is fundamental that the people have full access to information, not to just what decisions have been made in their name but how those decisions were reached and how they were deliberated. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created. The people do not give their agencies or public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.
Our values lie in a government that helps its citizens in a timely way to obtain information. Our values lie in a broadening base of public participation, involvement and interest, providing new ideas and energy.
Our values lie not in hiding embarrassment and unpleasant occurrences. Our values lie not in preventing dissent.
To carry out the purposes set forth in this section, the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act (California Government Code Section 54950 et seq.) and the Public Records Act (California Government Code Section 6250 et seq.) shall apply to the City Council, and any commission, committee, board or other body created by Charter, ordinance, resolution or formal action of the City Council, or the Mayor.
Special circumstances dictate that there must be exceptions to access. But those exceptions should be narrowly drawn and narrowly exercised. Public employees must be protected from unwarranted invasions of privacy while the public's right to fundamental information must be protected. Citizen right to privacy must be protected with the knowledge that involvement in government matters necessarily reduces an expectation of privacy.
In general, the value of access should be given a strong presumption of public benefit.
(Effective 1/18/2005)
