Legal Notes

What are the viable options to protect the safety of neighborhoods where foreclosed homes are abandoned and become unsightly invitations to unlawful activity and sources of health risks?

A look at the federal and state laws related to translation requirements.

Michael Jenkins is a partner with the law firm of Jenkins & Hogin and serves as city attorney for the City of West Hollywood and several other Southern California cities; he can be reached at MJenkins@localgovlaw.com. Helyne Meshar is principal of Helyne Meshar & Associates and legislative advocate for the City of West Hollywood; she can be reached at HMeshar@aol.com. Hernan Molina is deputy to West Hollywood Mayor John Duran and can be reached at HMolina@weho.org.

It has been three years since California’s Domestic Partner Law was enacted. This article traces the law’s history, explains California cities’ role in its development and implementation and includes specific recommendations to ensure that your city is in compliance with the law.

Kourtney Burdick is the League’s deputy general counsel. She can be reached at kburdick@cacities.org.

In response to the rising cost of living in California, 21 cities have enacted living wage ordinances (LWOs). Included in this group are large cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and Oakland; small cities such as Sonoma and Fair-fax; and medium-sized cities like Berkeley.¹ These ordinances vary in some respects, but in general, their purpose is the same: They set a wage requirement that is higher — often much higher — than federal and state minimum wages.²

Craig Labadie is city attorney for Concord and president of the League’s City Attorneys Department. He can be reached at clabadie@ci.concord.ca.us. Labadie gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by Kourtney Burdick, the League’s deputy general counsel, in drafting this article.

The purpose of the Public Records Act (PRA) is to give the public access to information that enables them to monitor the functioning of their government.¹ Its fundamental precept is that governmental records shall be disclosed to the public, upon request, unless there is a specific reason not to do so.² Most of the reasons for withholding a record are set forth in the PRA.

Melanie M. Poturica is managing partner at the law firm of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore in Los Angeles, and can be reached at mpoturica@lcwlegal.com. David A. Urban is an attorney with the firm, and can be reached at durban@lcwlegal.com.

In the public eye, city council members are at the top of the city’s government structure, presiding over large and small bureaucracies that may include police officers, firefighters and many other types of employees charged with serving the public interest. Accordingly, when residents are aggrieved by or interested in the conduct of a particular employee, they may view their council member as that employee’s ultimate “boss” or de facto CEO of the city, who can cause the employee to be disciplined or even terminated, and who could certainly take such lesser actions as communicating with the employee’s direct supervisor or reviewing the employee’s personnel file for information relevant to the issue.

Michele Beal Bagneris is city attorney for the City of Pasadena and president of the League’s City Attorneys Department.

City attorneys have a unique role in working with city councils, especially in light of the attorney’s ethical and other obligations. Unlike the city manager, the city attorney often does not have daily interaction with council members, and the council’s primary interaction with the city attorney is in city council meetings. The city council-city attorney relationship works best when there is open communication, mutual respect and trust. This article offers 10 tips to help council members create a more effective relationship with their city attorney.