City Council member threatens legal action over ‘illegal’ meeting

Sonoma City Councilmember Rachel Hundley has accused her four council colleagues of conducting what she describes as an “illegal” and “criminal” meeting – a meeting, she says, held June 18 under the pretense of labor negotiations, but was in fact staged to foist a month-long, unpaid furlough upon City Manager Cathy Capriola.

She says she may resort to legal action if the council doesn’t adequately resolve the issue.

“The City Council is aware of its wrongdoing, yet it has taken no steps to rectify the matter,” Hundley wrote in a letter to City Clerk Rebekah Barr on July 20, more than 30 days after she first called attention to the alleged violation.

According to Hundley, who also serves as vice mayor, a closed-session meeting on June 18, attended by only the five City Council members, was agendized to discuss labor negotiations – but, she said, the council members never broached the topic of labor or unions.

Instead, Hundley alleges, the labor meeting was merely a pretext for the council members to “conspire” to impose four weeks of unpaid leave upon Capriola.

Since the issue of furloughing Capriola was not on the meeting agenda, Hundley asserts that the council’s deliberation on the topic of the City Manager was a violation of the Brown Act, a state law that requires transparency about the proceedings in meetings of local legislative bodies.

Hundley said the discussion of Capriola centered around criticisms and concerns over her being overworked; she described the furlough as a form of reprimand.

“An improper and illegal meeting was held in which the four Council Members physically present discussed, at length, each of their own perceived specific complaints and charges against the City Manager and, ultimately, collectively agreed to impose the disciplinary measure of a one-month furlough beginning July 1,” Hundley wrote in the July 20 letter, demanding the city “cease and desist” its violation of the Brown Act.

She said the discussion “vacillated” between a sense that the City Manager deserved to be punished for the criticisms raised and a sense “that the City Council knew best and was doing it for the City Manager’s own good because she deserved a break.”

In her letter, Hundley describes the coalescing of the June 18 meeting as “unusual,” as it has thus far been the only city council or city commission meeting held in person since March 16, prior to the county health order to shelter in place. Since that time, council meetings have been held via the online Zoom platform. The June 18 meeting, however, was held in-person at the Emergency Operations Center, adjacent to Council Chambers, at 177 First St. W.

Hundley said she opted to attend the meeting remotely, noting her higher risk for the coronavirus due to suffering from an autoimmune disease. Attending in person were Mayor Logan Harvey and Councilmembers Amy Harrington, Madolyn Agrimonti and David Cook.

Hundley said it was additionally “unusual” that the meeting was held without the presence of the city attorney or any other authorized staff member and that City Manager Capriola was asked to leave after the meeting opened.

Hundley said the meeting began with Capriola passing out documents related to the labor negotiations described in the agenda, and then Capriola left the room.

In detailing the events of the meeting, Hundley did not identify her council colleagues by name, but assigned each a number.

“The discussion began when Council Member 1 declared that they had no interest in further impacting any of the management employees listed on the agenda but instead wanted to furlough the City Manager for the month of July,” wrote Hundley in the letter. “The proposed furlough was not based on any budgetary concern but instead was meant to prohibit the City Manager from working for a month since furloughed employees are prohibited from doing work during a furlough.”

Hundley said she then reminded the group that Capriola was already scheduled for three weeks of vacation in July.

However, she said, the council pressed for an official furlough which, unlike a vacation, would specifically bar the City Manager from working over the course of the month.

“So the discussion of furloughing the City Manager ensued with Council Member 1 listing off the specific complaints and charges against the City Manager that they felt warranted this form of employee discipline,” wrote Hundley. “The Mayor, Council Member 2, and Council Member 3 followed suit. All four council members physically present agreed that this action should be taken and that the City Manager should be furloughed for the month of July.”

After about 15 minutes, detailed Hundley in the letter, the council members asked her what she thought of the “agreed-upon plan.”

“This was the first pause in the otherwise enthusiastic and incessant discussion,” she wrote.

Hundley said she told her council colleagues that she suspected the discussion was in violation of the Brown Act, and left the meeting.

Hundley said she then called City Attorney Jeff Walter regarding the alleged Brown Act violation.

“This meeting was a clear violation of the Brown Act,” wrote Hundley to the city, “which provides specific requirements regarding closed session meetings held to discuss employment matters and which prohibits secret meetings of legislative bodies except as explicitly authorized.”

Hundley has sent three demands to the city:

• For the City Council “to cease and desist its violation of the Brown Act” that allegedly occurred on June18, 2020;

• For the City Council to approve the aforementioned promise to cease the alleged Brown Act violation at a public meeting;

• For the City Council to commit to having the City Manager, City Attorney, or other authorized third party present at every closed session meeting for a period of at least 12 months.

Council members met again in closed session on Monday, Aug. 3 to discuss a response to Hundley’s allegations and demands. Hundley, an attorney, recused herself from the meeting, due to her potential as a plaintiff against the city and would have a financial interest in the outcome of any litigation.

Mayor Logan Harvey told the Index-Tribune following the Aug. 3 meeting that a response from the other four council members would likely be made at the City Council meeting on Aug. 17.

Last Friday, July 31, Capriola announced her plans to retire at the end of the year.

Capriola told the Index-Tribune that she’d been considering for several months stepping down at the end of 2020. Now, with the pandemic’s effects on her three school-age children – Capriola’s kids are in middle school, high school and college – she decided the time was right to turn her full attention to her family, which will be knee deep in distance learning for the foreseeable future.

While Harvey said he couldn’t comment on the Brown Act allegation, he told the Index-Tribune he is “deeply supportive” of Capriola, noting that her most recent performance review by the council was “glowing and positive.”

“She’s a fantastic city manager and respected broadly throughout the county,” said Harvey. “She’s righted the (city’s) ship financially and led us through fire, power shutoffs and the virus with grace and stability.”

Councilmember Amy Harrington said the council’s focus should be on the pandemic, local businesses and families – and not “suing the city over a discussion (Hundley) didn’t like.”

“We should be supporting people through this pandemic and not through personal grievances,” said Harrington. “And that is a shame.”

Councilmember Agrimonti declined to comment and Councilmember David Cook did not respond to a request for comment.

Hundley told the Index-Tribune that raising an allegation of a Brown Act violation is not how she’d like to spend her time, but believes the city council needs to “be honest” and address it publicly.

“For me this is about he council as a whole and the violation of public trust -- and it needs to be resolved, it can’t go unaccounted for,” said Hundley. “It’s toxic to the employees, disrespectful to them and disrespectful to the public because here they are hiding behind budget negotiations and that’s not what they talked about.”

Added Hundley: “It’s not something I particularly wanted to be involved with.”

Email Jason at Jason.walsh@sonomanews.com.

Hundley letter to City of Sonoma