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# City volunteers get lesson on running public meetings
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-volunteers-get-lesson-on-running-public-meetings/
- Published: 2002-04-18T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:14:38.000Z
- Author: Andrew Fixmer
- Tags: Community, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Workshop teaches nuances of state’s public meeting laws*

Many of the city’s 150 board and commission members may have been flying blind when conducting the public’s business.

But not anymore. Members of Santa Monica’s 17 boards and commissions attended a Tuesday meeting to learn about what they can and cannot do in their volunteer roles as commission members and how to work better with the city’s staff.

The majority of the meeting’s time was spent discussing California’s open meeting laws and rules of disclosure.

The city council called the meeting because some officials have questioned the conduct of some volunteer boards when it comes to conflicts of interest and public disclosure.

The Landmarks Commission and the Pier Restoration Corporation have come under attack by the public recently for conducting closed meetings and having conflicts of interest.

After several questions directed toward City Attorney Marsha Moutrie and elected officials, it became clear that some volunteers didn’t understand the state’s complicated laws.

Conway Collis, the vice chairman of the Recreation and Parks Commission, asked if a member held a private dinner party and a discussion came up regarding commission business, could they still talk about it.

“Not unless you agendize the dinner party and make it a public meeting for anyone to attend,” Moutrie said. “I know it’s in conflict with how private business gets done, but you can’t have a private get-together and discuss the public’s business.”

When it came to the nuances of the law, even council members had different opinions on what is acceptable.

Victor Ludwig, chairman of the Commission on Older Americans, wanted to know if his commission could endorse ballot measures and try to persuade residents of its opinion.

The answer from Moutrie was a resounding “maybe.” She said commissions can endorse measures when it sends resolutions to the city council for an official action, but it can’t spend government time or money on persuading others.

Ludwig wanted to know if that meant he couldn’t go to senior centers throughout the city and speak to groups advocating his commission’s point of view.

Mayor Mike Feinstein said he thought it was OK as long as Ludwig is acting as a concerned citizen and uses his title as chairman for informational purposes.

Councilman Ken Genser believes that not only could Ludwig use his title when speaking to groups but also in campaign fliers and informational packets. Genser said people could differentiate between Ludwig and the commission as long as he said it was his own opinion being expressed.

Moutrie said California law is so vague that both of them are right.

“This must all sound like gibberish — I’m so sorry,” she said to Ludwig. “I know all you want to know is how to make something happen, but it’s never quite that simple.”

E-mail correspondence was another gray area for commission members.

Moutrie encouraged all board members not to send anything over e-mail and just provide the information during a public meeting.

Electronic messages about agenda items can’t be sent to the majority of a board before the meeting or be forwarded to its members because the state’s open meetings law prohibits it.

Genser said sending informational e-mail is OK, as long as board members tell their colleagues not to respond to the message.

However, Feinstein said if the e-mail was about a topic at an upcoming public meeting, it could be in violation of the state’s open meeting law.

Even though board members can send an e-mail containing an informational item, Moutrie said it was better to make the announcement at a public meeting.

“You have to make sure the work you do for the public is done in public,” Moutrie said.

> “You have to make sure the work you do for the public is done in public.” — – MARSHA MOUTRIE Santa Monica City Attorney

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 18, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041802.pdf?ref=smdp.com)