San Mateo to Ignore State's Suspension of Brown Act

Despite that it is suspending mandated portions of the Brown Act, requiring Cities and other agencies to publish materials such as meeting agendas, minutes and reports from closed sessions, the City of San Mateo is saying - we don't care.

City Clerk Patrice Olive and members of the City Council say, in essence, transparency is important to them, and they will continue to publish everything they have always published, despite the suspension.

"We don't plan to change anything," San Mateo Mayor Brandt Grotte told Patch.

"I'm kind of surprised it was proposed," said Councilmember Jack Matthews. "I'm really in favor of as much transparency as we can have."

The decision by the state essentially boiled down to one thing - money. Because the state made the publishing of such materials mandatory, the state had previously been reimbursing cities and agencies across the state for the costs incurred. Some cities, such as Foster City, were receiving as much as $4,000 per month, estimated Foster City Councilmember Pam Frisella.

However, San Mateo City Clerk Patrice Olive told Patch she found the suspension rather interesting because, in her experience, the state has been rather famously behind in its reimbursements.

Olive, who clerked for the City of Walnut Creek before coming on board in San Mateo seven months ago, said the state was "years behind" in its payments to Walnut Creek.

In Walnut Creek as well as in San Mateo, Olive told Patch, "The driving force [behind publishing these materials] is not to receive the reimbursements, it's to follow the law and to make our decisions in public."

"The City itself is totally committed in making sure the public has the chance to attend meetings and have their voices heard and to participate in the public process," Olive added. "To change anything would go against that, so we won't."

Matthews agreed.

"I can't speak for the City as a whole, but I think my colleagues would probably agree as well," he said.

Follow San Mateo Patch on Twitter | Like San Mateo Patch on Facebook | Sign up for the San Mateo Patch daily newsletter | Blog for San Mateo Patch