Sunshine in Berkeley - Almost There

It has been ten years in the making but Berkeley is one step closer to having a Sunshine Ordinance that is meaningful, enforceable, and historic. The process, started in 2001, passed a milestone on November 22, 2010 when the Alameda County Register of Voters certified the signatures collected to put the Citizen's Sunshine Ordinance on the next general election ballot. This allows the citizens of Berkeley to decide if they want the first Sunshine Ordinance in the country that is independent of city elected officials and city staff. No other governing body in the nation has done this. If approved by Berkeley's voters, it will be a truly historic happening.

The Citizen's Sunshine Review Committee would like to thank all of those who participated in drafting the Ordinance, all who helped collect signatures, and everyone who supported these efforts. Continued support and hard work will be required to get the citizens of Berkeley to pass it into law.

The struggle has been long and difficult. The good news is that the City Council has already adopted some of the items and procedures in the Sunshine Ordinance. At the September 2010 City Council workshop staff was asked to write a competing Sunshine Ordinance, so in the words of Mayor Bates, "we can get this behind us". If the City's Ordinance has few or no enforcement clauses, as we expect, it will have little effect. We will be following the City's effort carefully.

The Citizen's Sunshine Ordinance focuses on three important areas of city government. The Meeting Section sets rules and procedures, but allows the Council and Commissions flexibility in running their meetings. It strengthens and protects the provisions of the Brown Act. The Information Section clarifies what and how information can be gotten from the city by the public. It improves a state statue - the California Public Records Act. Both the Brown Act and the California Public Records Act have been State law for many years and both encourage local governments to enact stronger local ordinances. The Citizen's Sunshine Ordinance does just that and provides an opportunity for the City to save considerable budget and staff time by posting all public documents on the City website.

The third section - Enforcement, brings it all together and makes the Sunshine Ordinance citizen friendly. Today, if you feel that the City Council or staff has violated the Brown Act or the California Public Records Act, you can complain to the City Manager. If he does not agree with you, you must go Superior Court with a lawsuit to get relief, a costly and time consuming process for both the public and the City.

The Citizen's Sunshine Ordinance may not be perfect, but if you support open government where everyone is treated fairly and you have the same information as your elected officials and city staff, then you would be in favor of this initiative.

To read the entire ordinance, go to berkeleysunshine.org. The website has other articles and information about the process over the past years.

We don't know when the Initiative will be placed on the ballot, but it will be not later than November 2012 - keep tuned in for future information.

Dean Metzger
Citizen's Sunshine Review Committee Member