Dear Council
In follow up to comments regarding last meeting:
The Fair Political Practices Commission law of 2013 - codified in Government Code Section 87200 - requires every elected official and public employee who makes or influences governmental decisions to submit a Statement of Economic Interest, also known as the Form 700.
The Form 700 provides transparency and ensures accountability in two ways:
- It provides necessary information to the public about an official’s personal financial interests to ensure that officials are making decisions in the best interest of the public and not enhancing their personal finances.
- It serves as a reminder to the public official of potential conflicts of interest so the official can abstain from making or participating in governmental decisions that are deemed conflicts of interest.
While such forms may have been submitted to the City clerk, until very recently they were not made available to the public.
I appreciate that the City of Menlo Park - after 9 years of non-compliance - has finally made the site where SOME of such forms have now been been made available to the public.
That said, currently the available forms only start from 2018 whereas the law came into effect in 2013. Which means the City still remains non-compliant with the law, or at least the intent of the law. Menlo Park residents have a right to know if in the years past there have been any conflict of interest.
I request that the City to add all the forms going back to the inception of the law – especially since they were not made available before - as well as clarifying instructions on how to use the search option (e.g., entering only the last name)
Thank you.
Soody Tronson
Menlo Park Resident
On Sep 18, 2022, at 2:15 PM, Soody Tronson > wrote:
Dear Council
I greatly appreciate and support the agenda item to adopt a resolution updating the City’s conflict of interest code.
However, this resolution does not address the ongoing non-compliance of the city of Menlo Park with law. The City Council, Planning Commission, city manager, city attorney, treasurer or administrative services director, are subject to Form 700 filing requirements pursuant to Government Code Section 87200, which requires not only completing Form 700 but also making them available to the public.
The completed forms are currently on a page that is not available to the public.
A big question is why is the Council and the City Manager refuse to provide the content of these forms available to the public.
I submit that the City continues to be operating in violation of the law, and the very least not complying with the intent of the law.
Best
Soody Tronson
Menlo Park Resident
Begin forwarded message:
From: Soody Tronson >
Subject: Fwd: FPPC Form 700 notification | Transparency of Information
Date: September 11, 2022 at 12:57:39 PM PDT
To: _CCIN >
Cc: ndoherty@bwslaw.com, jicmurphy@menlopark.org
Dear Council
I have been writing to the Staff and the Council for at least the last 2.5 years. The email below is one of them.
California election law requires that:
Every elected official and public employee who makes or influences governmental decisions is required to submit a Statement of Economic Interest, also known as the Form 700. The Form 700 provides transparency and ensures accountability in two ways:
• It provides necessary information to the public about an official’s personal financial interests to ensure that officials are making decisions in the best interest of the public and not enhancing their personal finances.
• It serves as a reminder to the public official of potential conflicts of interest so the official can abstain from making or participating in governmental decisions that are deemed conflicts of interest.
Yet, the City of Menlo Park continues to ignore this law.
It has created a page that no one knows about or has access to (as described below). I received the link to that page after numerous emails and requests. However, having a handful of people having access to this page, I submit, does not satisfy the law.
I urge you to rectify this non-compliance. Getting in compliance requires nothing but adding a hyperlink and adding that the law also applies to certain staff and not just the elected officials.
Best
Soody Tronson
Menlo Park Resident.
From: Soody Tronson >
Subject: FPPC Form 700 notification | Transparency of Information
Date: October 11, 2021 at 6:23:06 PM PDT
To: _CCIN >
Dear Council
It’s been close to one year since I brought up the following to the attention of the City Manager and Staff related to the City’s FPPC Form 700 notification page.
1) Why is Menlo Park missing from the official FPPC website where other cities are listed. For example, Palo Alto and Mountain View are both listed but not Menlo Park.
2) My understanding is that as of 2013 (according to Menlo Park’s own website each city must provide these completed forms on a web page. So while we may not have had these electronically before 2018, I believe they we may have to scan them and uploaded them on an accessible web page.
3) I believe that the City’s web page incorrectly stated (until finally that part was fixed after several requests) that these forms were applicable to “elected city officers” leaving out the fact that they also applied to non-elected officials (e.g., City Manager, City Attorney). This was correct after multiple requests.
However, the link to the page where residents can search these forms is still not available on this site (the most logical location). I was provided with a link to a page where this information is available but that is still not shared via the Menlo Park website, despite requesting this fix time and time again. (to search, on this page, you must enter Last Name, Full First Name)
Furthermore, the current City’s FPPC Form 700 notification page, still does not provide a link to the non-elected officials who are subject to this law.
Why these simple transparency tools are not provided by the City? Why does it take repeated communications and requests to get what is very simple to provide and required, and at the very least, highly recommended? Why do residents have to contact, individually, the Staff to request what is currently required by law and available on a page, albeit obscure and not findable unless we find the actual page?
I plead with the Council that in as we reimagine how the City is run, we include transparency and efficiency.
Regards
Soody Tronson
Menlo Park Resident
