As reported by The Austin Bulldog January 25, County Attorney David Escamilla is reviewing a complaint about allegations that the Austin City Council may have violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.

This is a serious matter and the city is taking it seriously. In lieu of the private meetings that for years have been held among the mayor and council members to discuss items on the Thursday council meeting agendas, the council will now hold work sessions to discuss the agenda in posted open meetings. The first work session was held this morning. No action will be taken during work sessions and no citizen participation will be allowed. As always, citizens will be permitted to address the agenda items during the Thursday council meeting.

If the mayor and council members should be found to have in fact violated the Act, they may be subject to criminal prosecution under Section 551.143 of the Government Code, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500; confinement in the county jail for not less than one month or more than six months; or both the fine and confinement.

The Austin Bulldog is publishing selected text excerpts from each of the exclusive interviews conducted with the council members before breaking the story. The complete copyrighted MP3 audio file for each interview is linked at the bottom of each article for easy access. You may listen to these recordings to gain a better understanding of the published excepts within the context of the complete interview.

Council Member Randi Shade was interviewed in her office at City Hall on Monday, January 24, 2011. The recording runs 42 minutes 33 seconds.

The Austin Bulldog:

As I said in my e-mail requesting the interview, I’m developing a story about the working relationships among the mayor and the council members and how the city council works together to develop public policies. One thing that stands out in my mind is that four members, including you, keep your calendars online. So, you’re being pretty transparent. You mentioned at your event the other night that you thought you were the first one (to post your calendars online).

Randi Shade:

Oh yeah, I was. ...

The Austin Bulldog:

... I got you now. Okay. ... Something that caught my eye in the published calendars is it indicates the mayor and the council members spend considerable time with each other meeting, typically in the days right before a council meeting. It seems all of you are making a big effort to do that. So, I was wondering, what sort of things do you discuss in these meetings?

The Austin Bulldog has obtained copies of Engagement Letters signed by Acting City Attorney Karen Kennard to hire three outside attorneys to provide legal advice and counsel relating to Texas Open Meetings Act issues. This in response to Travis County Attorney David Escamilla’s inquiry into whether the Austin City Council may have violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by holding private meetings concerning public business. (See The Austin Bulldog’s report of January 25.)

Some or all of these attorneys attended the closed-door executive session of the Austin City Council on January 28 that lasted two and a half hours. The posted purpose of that meeting was for private consultation with legal counsel to discuss legal issues relating to the Open Meetings Act.

The Engagement Letters, obtained under the Texas Public Information Act and dated January 28, state that each attorney will be paid for legal services in a total amount not to exceed $53,000. That budget cap may not be exceeded without the city’s approval.

As reported by The Austin Bulldog January 25, County Attorney David Escamilla is reviewing a complaint about allegations that the Austin City Council may have violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.

This is a serious matter and the city is taking it seriously. Mayor Lee Leffingwell has canceled the private meetings he has for years been holding with council members and has said that council work sessions will be held in open meetings.

If the mayor and council members should be found to have in fact violated the Act, they may be subject to criminal prosecution under Section 551.143 of the Government Code, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500; confinement in the county jail for not less than one month or more than six months; or both the fine and confinement.

The Austin Bulldog is publishing selected text excerpts from each of the exclusive interviews conducted with the council members before breaking the story. The complete copyrighted MP3 audio file for each interview is linked at the bottom of each article for easy access. You may listen to these recordings to gain a better understanding of the published excepts within the context of the complete interview.

Council Member Chris Riley was interviewed in his home on Monday, January 24, 2011. The recording runs 40 minutes 13 seconds. (The interview was interrupted more than once by a man doing work for Riley.)

The Austin Bulldog:

As I said in the e-mail requesting the interview, I’m developing a story about the working relationships between the mayor and council members and the city manager in connection with how the city council works together to develop public policies. One thing that stands out in my mind is that four of the council members, including yourself, are pretty transparent in how you spend your time on council duties, by posting your calendars on the city website. Have you any idea why the other council members…you know, the mayor and (Mayor Pro Tem) Mike (Martinez) and (Council Member) Sheryl (Cole) don’t publish their calendars?

Chris Riley:

I haven’t talked with them about it so I just don’t know. I don’t think it was really a common practice previously.

The Austin Bulldog:

Well, it seems like the four of you all that were elected in ’08 and ’09 are the ones that are keeping the calendars. Sheryl (Cole) and Mike (Martinez) were (first) elected in ’06.