Encinitas City Council votes against “sunshine ordinance”
The Encinitas City Council declared that the city does not need to have a certain law that states the city’s dedication to having an open government.
The council conducted a meeting last week and decided in a vote of 4-1, with Councilwoman Teresa Barth not in favor, to not continue to embrace what is known as a “sunshine ordinance.” A couple members reported that the city has surpassed the requirements of the state’s open-government laws by putting records online, including campaign finance records.
Barth stated that she was unhappy with the outcome, and said that the ordinance would have promoted “a culture of open and transparent governance.”
Councilman Jerome Stocks stated, “Nobody saw a reason to actually create an ordinance to describe what we’re already doing anyway.”
There are currently no cities in San Diego County that have a sunshine ordinance, a staff report revealed. Benicia, Milpitas, Oakland, Riverside, San Francisco and Vallejo are the six Californian cities that have embraced open-government ordinances.
