Court Rules Fresno City Council Violated Open Meetings Law

Beginning in 2018, the Fresno City Council’s budget committee negotiated the city’s proposed annual budget behind closed doors in violation of the Brown Act, the state’s open meetings law that guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local government bodies.

The First Amendment Coalition and ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed the lawsuit in November 2023 after first sending a letter demanding the city stop crafting its annual budget in secret. The City responded by insisting the budget committee was an “ad hoc committee,” and therefore not subject to the Brown Act. This was despite the fact — as the Court noted — that the Council itself voted to make it a standing committee subject to open meeting laws in a January 2023 vote, as well as the undisputed track record of the committee operating as a standing committee before that time.

“This ruling makes clear that secret budget committee deliberations are not just bad policy — they are illegal,” said FAC Legal Director David Loy. “Fresno residents deserve nothing short of full transparency on how their elected officials are spending taxpayer dollars.”

The Fresno County Superior Court decision confirmed the Fresno City Council’s Budget Committee is a standing committee subject to California’s open meetings law, and that the City was in violation of the law when it failed to post agendas, open its meetings to the public, or prepare minutes.

“The Fresno budget committee was making decisions on a record-breaking $1.87 billion budget without giving the public any opportunity to provide input – a flagrant violation of the Brown Act,” said Angelica Salceda, director of the democracy, speech and technology project at the ACLU of Northern California. “Today’s ruling is a major victory for open government.”


https://www.aclunorcal.org/press-releases/court-rules-fresno-city-council-violated-open-meetings-law-by-conducting-budget-deliberations-in-secret/