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Home My WebLink About34-Council Office CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: BETTY DEAN ANDERSON Councilmember - 6th Ward Date: July 5, 2001 ~(Q)~W Subject: A Resolution of the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino Repealing Resolution No. 2001-7 Which Censured The City Attorney for Unauthorized And Insensitive Conduct. i' '--'=pt: COUNCIL OFFICE Synopsis of Previous Council Action: January 8, 200 I - Council adopts on a 5-2 vote Resolution No. 2001-7, a Resolution of the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino to Censure the City Attorney For Unauthorized and Insensitive Conduct. Recommended motion: Adopt Resolution. r- '-' A~, f;) .J:?,__~- , Signature Contact person: Bettv Dean Anderson Phone: 5378 Supporting data attached: Staff R~ort Ward: All FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: None at this time. Source: Finance: Council Notes: ,/'""'"'> Agenda Item No. .3 t{ 7- 9-0/ '- c c - ....... TO: Mayor and Common Council FROM: Betty Dean Anderson Councilwoman - Sixth Ward DATE: July 5, 2001 RE: REPEAL OF RESOLUTION NO. 2001-7 In January of this year, the city government was still living in the aftermath of what had been a bitter November 2000 special city election. Resolution No. 2001-7 was adopted hurriedly in this atmosphere. We now know that some of the information contained in that resolution was incorrect, We have learned that the City Attorney's Office is the office that has always authorized payment of spending the relocation funds allocated for use whenever residents were displaced due to code enforcement. We have also learned that it has been the routine practice for many years to obtain a signed release prepared by the City Attorney Office's whenever city money is spent to resolve even a potential dispute that could otherwise lead to a lawsuit against the city, However, just as important as not having in existence a resolution containing untrue information, it is equally important that we recognize that repeal of this resolution would contribute significantly to healing the wounds in city government and throughout San Bernardino, that were still festering in January of this year. The Mayor, the Common Council and City Attorney have all worked together for the good of our city since April of this year, The antagonisms that existed at the beginning of this year seem to have disappeared. Any strong disagreements are now being expressed and resolved behind the scenes. We no longer see the acrimony and the disharmony at the televised City Council meetings as we did in January, ,-.. I...- c - "- Mayor and Common Council Page 2 July 5, 2001 It is time we bring official closure to a sad chapter in the history of our city government. For all of these reasons, I am asking the Mayor and City Council to exercise the leadership of which we are capable. The repeal of Resolution No. 2001-7 will be a formal announcement to our city that the elected leaders have buried the past and will work together in harmony to rebuild our city. Sincerely, f2:~~4"-- a~.AO , Betty Dean Anderson '- 13 .1"'- 14 '-' 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ~(Q)~V I 2 3 4 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2001-7 WHICH CENSURED THE CITY ATTORNEY FOR UNAUTHORIZED AND INSENSITIVE CONDUCT 5 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AS FOLLOWS: 6 SECTION 1. Resolution No. 2001-7, entitled a Resolution of The Mayor And 7 Common Council of The City of San Bernardino to Censure The City Attorney For Unauthorized And Insensitive Conduct, is hereby repealed in its entirety. 8 9 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the Mayor and 10 Common Council of the City of San Bernardino at a meetin thereof, held on the day of ,2001, by the following vote, to wit II 12 COUNCIL MEMBERS: ABSTAIN ABSENT AYES NAYS ESTRADA LIEN MCGINNIS SCHNETZ SUAREZ ANDERSON MCCAMMACK CITY CLERK The foregoing Resolution is hereby approved this day of ,2001. 22 JUDITH V ALLES, Mayor City of San Bernardino 23 Approved as to form and 24 legal content: 25 JAMES F. PENMAN, City Attorney 26 C 27 "'cf-4 7JL~, 28 rn Ul -3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 f .- '- c r -- t\ 0U~ , ~,./ : 'I Cr'U'lC:L C"f;CE f' SA~ 'W\li\m~,9 RESOLUTION NO. 2001-7 A1Ri:~&UTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO TO CENSURE THE CITY ATTORNEY FOR UNAumORIZED AND INSENSITIVE CONDUCT elm WHEREAS, with the exception of Native Americans who are indigenous to this land, every person in the United States of America is an immigrant or has ancestors who immigrated to this nation; WHEREAS, the State of California in the 21 st century exemplifies the diverse immigrant make-up of America's population, with no racial or ethnic group comprising a majority of the State's population; WHEREAS, the citizens of the City of San Bernardino reflect California's dynamic racial and cultural diversity; WHEREAS, the City of San Bernardino ("City") is proud of its heritage and future as a community that honors and supports the cultures of its citizens through education, arts, and civic activities; WHEREAS, the elected officials entrusted to guide and lead the City should demonstrate by their acts and words an understanding of and respect for the sensitivities of San Bernardino's diverse population; WHEREAS, the City's elected officials should, above all, refrain from conduct and words that demean or marginalize minority cultures, divide our citizenry, and incite fear, prejudice, and hatred; WHEREAS, on December 20, 2000, James F. Penman, City Attorney of the City of San Bernardino, in reaction to the comment of a city resident of Mexican descent whose family was displaced from their home because of health and safety issues, authored a letter offering the City to arrange and pay for one- way transportation to Mexico for the resident and his family (a copy of the letter is attached hereto as Exhibit" A"); WHEREAS, Mr. Penman never received authorization from the Mayor and City Council to write the letter or to make the offer contained therein; and WHEREAS, Mr. Penman has failed to apologize for his letter and conduct to the city resident, his family, or the residents of San Bernardino. NOW THEREFORE, the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino does hereby resolve as follows: 1131( 7-9-01 2001-7 f 1 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE ~,.." CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO TO CENSURE THE CITY ATTORNEY '- 2 FOR UNAUTHORIZED AND INSENSITIVE CONDUCT 3 SEcnON 1. The letter on December 20, 2000 by James F. Penman, City 4 Attorney of the City of San Bernardino ("City Attorney"), and the offer therein to arrange and pay for a resident and his family's transportation to Mexico, was 5 never authorized by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino ("Council") as required under the power and authority granted to the 6 Council in Article vm and Section 40(aa) of the Charter of the City of San 7 Bernardino ("City Charter"). 8 SEcnON 2. The unauthorized letter on December 20, 2000 by James F. Penman, City Attorney, and his attempt to make an official and binding offer on 9 behalf of the City of San Bernardino to relocate individuals to foreign countries, violated the limited powers granted to the City Attomey in Section 55 of the City 10 Charter, 11 SEcnON 3. By his unauthorized and ultra vires letter on December 20, 12 2000, and his subsequent failure to apologize for the insensitive comments therein, James F. Penman, City Attorney, has ridiculed the city resident to whom 13 the letter was addressed, his family, and his nation of origin, and Mr. Penman has helped incite fear, prejudice, and hatred within our community. 14 C 15 SEcnON 4. By his unauthorized and ultra vires letter on December 20, 2000, and his subsequent failure to apologize for the insensitive comments 16 therein, James F. Penman, City Attorney, has caused an embarrassment to the City of San Bernardino and has disrupted the City goals to maintain racial and 17 ethnic harmony, and undermined the goals of all to support and honor the diversity among residents and their cultures. 18 19 SEcnON 5. The Council hereby officially censures James F. Penman, City Attorney, for his unauthorized and ultra vires letter authored on December 20 20, 2000, and his subsequent failure to apologize for the insensitive comments therein. 21 /I /I 22 II /I 23 /I 24 /I /I 25 II 26 """,-. 27 "- 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 /"''' 27 '- r "- c 2001-7 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO TO CENSURE THE CITY ATTORNEY FOR UNAUTHORIZED AND INSENSITIVE CONDUCT I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino at a joint regular meeting thereof, held on the 8th day of J,muarv 2001, by the following vote, to wit: Council Members: AYES NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT ESTRADA x LIEN x MCGINNIS x - SCHNETZ x SUAREZ x ANDERSON x MCCAMMACK x - (:I . " Ij; J ,~ .~t~<: - ~-<.Av<.A'\...- hel Clark, CIty Clerk The foregoing resolution IS hereby approved this f ,';-;.- day of January .2001. Approved as to Form and legal content: 28 -- OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO , . JAMES F. PENMAN CITY ATTORNEY December 20, 2000 C> ~C"'.!' o :::~ ~ ~ ~co c.-, c..,X >-n i''''') Z~ C> =% -:7 ~~ ::c :>c::> ::-:I:;: C[1 ~- :E~ N <::> Mr. Valente Duran c/o EZ-8 Motel, Room 237-238 1750 S. Waterman San Bernardino, California 92408 r~-". " J Re: Cypress Inn Trailer Park Dear Mr. Duran: C I read in the paper yesterday a statement attributed to you, "In Mexico, they treat us better than here. " The City of San Bernardino, out of concern for the safety of you and your family, evacuated you and your family on Thursday, December 14, 2000 from Cypress Inn Trailer Park to the EZ-8 Motel. Our Fire Department Inspectors believe you and your family were living in a situation that could result in serious injury or even death, due to the condition of the park and your mobile home. The people of the City of San Bernardino are presently paying for two rooms at the motel for you and your famiIy and are reimbursing the Salvation Army for providing you and your family with daily meals. We intend to continue providing you this assistance for the remainder of the two week period that you were informed of when the evacuation first OCCUrred. In addition, as you have also previously been advised, the people of the City of San Bernardino, through the City's Economic Development Agency, is prepared to assist you and your family in obtaining more permanent housing by paying your first month's rent and a security deposit at a residence that meets fire and building code standards. I do not know if the COmment attributed to you in the newspaper is correct or not. If it is ~orrect, I understand and respect your feelings for what I assume is your native country. .~. 300 NCRTH "0" STREET. SAN BERNAROI~!O, CA 92418-0001 . (909) 384-5355. FAX (909) 384.5238 '. Mr. Valente Duran Re: Cypress Inn Trailer Park Pip 2 - However, I want you to know that the comment attributed to you in Tuesday's paper wu perceived as a criticism by you of the effort and funds that the people of the City of San Beman&ao are providing for you and your family. We do not believe this criticism of our efforts isjtl~. c ("'- "- The people of this City have no desire to deprive you or your family of what you may believe would be better treatment by the government of Mexico. Therefore, in substitution for the hOlJSiu& food, and other assistance the City of San Bernardino is voluntarily providing, we want to give you the option of continuing to receive this assistance or accepting our offer to arrange and pay fOr transportation for you and your family, one way, to Mexico. This alternative offer is conditioned uPQn your signing a release for the City of SIll Bernardino. If you choose not to accept this alternative offer the people of the City of San Bernardino will continue to assist you in the manner and for the time previously indicated. Sincerely, L 7- fe~~., ".. a~s F. PENMAN, City Attorney cc: Mayor Iudith Valles City Councilmembers I , I i , I JFPIjs [DUIWI.L TRJ