Revised Sunshine Ordinance Clouds Community Workshop

A Sunshine Ordinance workshop held last night in the chambers produced a revised draft of the Sunshine Ordinance, prompting the city council to plan a third workshop to allow time for review of the draft.

It all started back in August when Dixon resident Ourania Riddle proposed a Sunshine Ordinance calling for more government transparency. Concerns arose however during a similar workshop in October that the ordinance, as written by Riddle, was overly broad, lacked clarity or focus, and was similar to a Sunshine Ordinance adopted by San Francisco.

Riddle seemingly took these concerns to heart as she addressed the council during last night’s meeting.

“I listened and made changes to the original draft,” she told the council. “Compromise is not a dirty word in my dictionary.”

Riddle reduced the original draft ordinance by nine sections – a reduction of 50 percent of the original, she said. Riddle took out some language from the proposed ordinance and addressed some other concerns.

“The purpose of this ordinance is to go beyond the minimum requirements of the Brown Act and the Public Records Act,” she said.

Riddle said the Sunshine Ordinance is designed to enhance the aforementioned laws and told the council that they have been as transparent as possible, but future councils may not be.

“I believe this council has made a tremendous effort to be open and transparent,” she told the council. “Future councils and mayors may not be as responsible. This ordinance will give you the tools to continue your legacy.”

The introduction of the revised ordinance, which Riddle said she had completed a few hours before the meeting, took the council by surprise. Riddle apologized for the short notice of the revision and said that she was not aware that the workshop was taking place until last Thursday.

“My comments and concerns with the Sunshine Ordinance were based on what was originally presented,” Dixon Mayor Jack Batchelor said. “I’m not prepared to look at what the revised ordinance says tonight to give it due diligence, but I also think it needs to go to our city attorney as it’s done in the past, that’s just common practice.”

The council agreed with Batchelor, but a few concerns among the council members were raised about the venue of the workshop.

“Frankly, the last meeting was supposed to be a workshop, it’s supposed to be more give or take than that,” Vice Mayor Michael Ceremello said. “I suggest for the future workshop, we conduct them at the so that the public can have more input on a more spontaneous basis.”

Ceremello said that the last workshop didn’t get anything accomplished. Councilman Fuller agreed with Ceremello.

“This is too formal of a setting,” Fuller said. “If we are going to have a workshop it ought to be in a (setting) where people can speak freely.”

But Mayor Batchelor told the council that the city would be excluding a large amount of individuals who watch the workshops and council meetings at home on their computers or televisions if they do it anymore but the council chambers.

The council agreed to hold a workshop in the council chambers sometime within the next couple of months, preferably in December Batchelor said, to explore further the revised version of the Sunshine Ordinance. But not before some of the audience members gave their input to the council.

Dixon resident Bil Paul, who is also a contributor to Dixon Patch, told the council that any Sunshine Ordinance drafted by the city should include a clause that prevents the city from keeping secret the contents of use permits granted to businesses who want to move in to town.

“This is a basic right that shouldn’t be bargained way however attractive the company is,” Paul told the council.

Dixon resident Shirley Fanning Humphrey told the council that they should draft four or five key questions to pose to the public to get the dialogue started and give the council an idea of where the community stands on the ordinance.

Batchelor said  he would be getting together with Acting City Manager Jon Cox to come up with a date for the next workshop. Dixon Patch will publish the date as soon as we receive it.

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