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OAKLAND -- The state commission responsible for ensuring that government standards and ethical guidelines are followed has opened a preliminary review into allegations against the Oakland City Council.
The seven-member Oregon Government Ethics Commission, formerly the Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission, will review the agenda, minutes and audio recording of an executive session that took place June 5. The ethics panel opened the review after a complaint was filed June 10 by former Police Chief Norm Counts.
The executive session was convened so the council could meet with legal counsel and discuss current or pending litigation during an investigation into whether Counts improperly responded to a vehicle accident involving his son while Counts was police chief.
Counts alleged in his complaint that the council went beyond its scope during the closed session by also discussing two ordinances proposed by Springfield-based attorney Robert Franz while he and former McMinnville Police Chief Rod Brown were conducting the investigation.
One ordinance, which gave the council sole hiring and firing authority, was adopted during a July 3 open meeting. The second proposed ordinance prohibited nepotism, but has not been reintroduced to the council.
As previously reported by The News-Review, Jack Orchard, a Portland attorney who represents the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, said the discussion of the ordinances without the public present violated the Oregon Public Meetings Law.
"Ordinances are clearly at the absolute core of the City Council's output," Orchard said at the time. "Those things cannot even be discussed in executive session."
The commission also requested copies of any documents, including the two proposed ordinances, provided to the City Council for discussion during the closed meeting, according to a letter from the ethics panel obtained by The News-Review.
The letter was sent to Mayor Nanci Staples and city Councilors Linda West, Bette Keehley and Jana Cunningham, who also face a recall election Tuesday. The letter was sent to them because they are named in Counts' complaint.
Councilor Andrea Botwinick, the only member of the council not facing recall, was not named in Counts' complaint.
Ron Bersin, executive director of the commission, said the preliminary review "is a chance for the commission to look at the information and deem if we want to open an investigation."
He declined to discuss details of the review's subject, citing a confidentiality period during the review process.
The review can last as long as 90 days, but will likely be much shorter, Bersin said.
If an investigation is warranted, state law dictates it would have to be concluded in 180 days, Bersin said.
"We'll probably be asking information from councilors. They are able to provide anything they would like to provide to the commission," Bersin said. "It's kind of a time they can answer themselves as to whether or not they made a mistake."
* You can reach reporter Erik Skoog at 957-4202 or by e-mail at eskoog@newsreview.info.
The seven-member Oregon Government Ethics Commission, formerly the Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission, will review the agenda, minutes and audio recording of an executive session that took place June 5. The ethics panel opened the review after a complaint was filed June 10 by former Police Chief Norm Counts.
The executive session was convened so the council could meet with legal counsel and discuss current or pending litigation during an investigation into whether Counts improperly responded to a vehicle accident involving his son while Counts was police chief.
Counts alleged in his complaint that the council went beyond its scope during the closed session by also discussing two ordinances proposed by Springfield-based attorney Robert Franz while he and former McMinnville Police Chief Rod Brown were conducting the investigation.
One ordinance, which gave the council sole hiring and firing authority, was adopted during a July 3 open meeting. The second proposed ordinance prohibited nepotism, but has not been reintroduced to the council.
As previously reported by The News-Review, Jack Orchard, a Portland attorney who represents the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, said the discussion of the ordinances without the public present violated the Oregon Public Meetings Law.
"Ordinances are clearly at the absolute core of the City Council's output," Orchard said at the time. "Those things cannot even be discussed in executive session."
The commission also requested copies of any documents, including the two proposed ordinances, provided to the City Council for discussion during the closed meeting, according to a letter from the ethics panel obtained by The News-Review.
The letter was sent to Mayor Nanci Staples and city Councilors Linda West, Bette Keehley and Jana Cunningham, who also face a recall election Tuesday. The letter was sent to them because they are named in Counts' complaint.
Councilor Andrea Botwinick, the only member of the council not facing recall, was not named in Counts' complaint.
Ron Bersin, executive director of the commission, said the preliminary review "is a chance for the commission to look at the information and deem if we want to open an investigation."
He declined to discuss details of the review's subject, citing a confidentiality period during the review process.
The review can last as long as 90 days, but will likely be much shorter, Bersin said.
If an investigation is warranted, state law dictates it would have to be concluded in 180 days, Bersin said.
"We'll probably be asking information from councilors. They are able to provide anything they would like to provide to the commission," Bersin said. "It's kind of a time they can answer themselves as to whether or not they made a mistake."
* You can reach reporter Erik Skoog at 957-4202 or by e-mail at eskoog@newsreview.info.
