Butte County Grand Jury • 2008-2009 • Agency Response
Response to: Biggs City Government

City of Biggs*

Published: August 18, 2008 6 pages
Ver PDF original

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12, F13, F14, F15, F16, F17, F18, F19, F20, F21, F22, F23, F24, F25, F26, F27, F28, F29, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F35, F36, F37, F38, F39, F40, F41, F42, F43, F44, F45, F46, F47, F48, F49, F50, F51, F52, F53, F54, F55, F56, F57, F58, F59, F60, F61, F62, F63, F64, F65, F66, F67, F68, F69, F70, F71, F72, F73, F74, F75, F76, F77, F78, F79, F80, F81, F82, F83, F84, F85, F86, F87, F88, F89, F90, F91, F92, F93, F94, F95, F96, F97, F98, F99, F100, F101, F102, F103, F104, F105, F106, F107, F108, F109, F110, F111, F112, F113, F114, F115, F116, F117, F118, F119, F120, F121, F122, F123, F124, F125, F126, F127, F128, F129, F130, F131, F132, F133, F134, F135, F136, F137, F138, F139, F140, F141, F142, F143, F144, F145, F146, F147, F148, F149, F150, F151, F152, F153, F154, F155, F156, F157, F158, F159, F160, F161, F162, F163, F164, F165, F166, F167, F168, F169, F170, F171, F172, F173, F174, F175, F176, F177, F178, F179, 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Findings and Recommendations 3 findings

F1 Page 6
Our home is located on the other signage along the highway north end of the Third Street DRAWING people into the Mee CCEPTING APPLICATIONS! mexican restaura G AUTHORITY OF BUTTE COUNTY DLEY FARM LABOR HOUSING Gridley droom Duplexes available for rent* 530) 846-3640 for more information Eligibility: ners & Combinations t be a U.S. Citizen or Legal Resident. with this coupon st have annual farm labor earnings of at Monday thru Thursday After A-00nn
No recommendations for this finding
F2 Page 2
Council member J.Terry's position was declared vacant September 16, 2007 (as a result of Ms. Terry's resigning from office) and Council again immediately advertised the vacancy in an aggressive effort to fill it. The Council interviewed in public session the one and only applicant on October 15, 2007. No motion was immediately made to appoint the applicant, and the applicant announced he was withdrawing his application. b. City Attorney advised Council that if no appointment were made within 30 days of the declared vacancy, then a special election is to be held, per State Code. c. Council then voted unanimously to call for the position to be filled by election of the voters. Council considered election laws, dates and costs that night and more thoroughly November 2 and again January 28, deciding it would be in the best interests of the city to hold an election in conjunction with the November 2008 general election. This decision was reconsidered and reaffirmed February 4, 2008. d. County elections officials and the City Attorney were consulted extensively throughout this consideration process. This process was officially recorded, and records were available to the Grand Jury to examine. Secondly, please note that in both vacancy cases the City Council advertised publicly and requested applications to be submitted from the citizens of Biggs for the filling of a vacant position. A notice was placed in all the publications and public locations that are required by law, and at city hall. One and only one person stepped forward to submit an application. This person was indeed one of the many former council members still residing in Biggs; the other two that were mentioned but unnamed by the Jury did not show any interest in the position and did not turn in an application. It is difficult to appoint someone who is not interested in the position, former council member or not. Council therefore finds the Grand Jury's assertion of a "lack of action to fill the vacancy" unfounded. Finding F3 - Serious concerns regarding trust of the City Council decision-making process, transparency of government, and insufficient consideration of the public good in City Council decisions exist among many Biggs citizens. (Response) - Respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. It is difficult to respond to such a statement. As is no doubt typical in any local jurisdiction, there are some Biggs citizens who may have an undisclosed reason (e.g., personal grudge) that would serve as motivation for making this kind of a complaint without just cause. As set forth above, the Council has no way of knowing how "many" of Biggs' citizens share this view. The Council asserts that they have not received such complaints either directly or indirectly. 3 of 5 Biggs City Council agendas are clearly posted as prescribed by law. Meetings are normally held per established schedules and in the evenings to allow maximum public participation. Citizens are actively welcomed to comment on items on or not on the agenda. News media are welcome to observe and report at will, and do so. The debate and decisions of this City Council have always been done in an open and public forum along with ample opportunity for public questions and comments. The City Council has always and will always have the City of Biggs and its citizens' best interests in mind when making the decisions it takes to run the City and plan for its future. The Grand Jury members and its report readers should understand that in the normal and expected course of the democratic process, there will always be some people satisfied and some unsatisfied with the outcome of decisions by legislative bodies. The Jury cited no evidence (there is no evidence) of a lack of transparency in the decision-making process, nor insufficient consideration of the public good in Biggs City Council decisions.
No recommendations for this finding
F2006 Page 2
On June 23 Council again took up the issue as an agenda reconsideration item and this time voted unanimously to table the topic. In that same meeting, Council voted unanimously to direct city staff to begin working on the General Plan Update process. The finding's reference to "Mayor and City Council" actions discounts the fact that by Biggs City Code and by State Government Code, the mayor of Biggs is elected as a councilmember by the citizens then selected from among the Council's members. The role is to preside at meetings and represent the city ceremonially. There is no separate or independent power to act vested in the mayoral position. The mayor has one vote, no super power, no veto authority. It should also be noted that if the Jury's finding of "many Biggs citizens" being unhappy with the Mayor and Vice-Mayor had any credibility at all, surely there would be someone willing to run against them for their seats on the council at reelection time. Mr. Busch and Mr. Frith are currently running unopposed on the November ballot. Finding F2 - The Biggs City Council currently has a total of four members out of the authorized five members, due to a vacancy which occurred on July 7th of 2007. The Grand Jury finds the lack of action to fill the vacancy disturbing. (Response) - Respondent disagrees wholly with the finding. 2 of 5 First, it must be noted that the Grand Jury's statement is incorrect as a matter of fact. Official records available to the Grand Jury clearly show:
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