Complaint alleges council violated open-meeting law

Dan Kulin

Friday, Feb. 27, 2004 | 10:57 a.m.

A Boulder City woman has filed an open-meeting law complaint with the state attorney general's office, alleging Boulder City's Council negotiated the severance package for ousted City Manager John Sullard during a series of secret meetings.

Linda Strickland, 45, an attorney, said she hoped her complaint would lead to a censure of the council, and show city leaders that the residents are keeping a close eye on what they do.

"I'm alleging that the actual separation agreement was in violation of the open-meeting law because it was the result of individual meetings and consultation with Mr. Sullard and the mayor and council," Strickland said. "There were serial communications in violation of the open-meeting law."

Sullard and City Attorney Dave Olsen said they don't think the law was broken.

Olsen said he and Sullard worked out the terms of Sullard's separation agreement. He added that the conditions in the separation agreement, such as the six months' severance pay, were required by the Sullard's employment contract with the city that was approved when he was hired.

Around the end of December and early January, Sullard met with the mayor and and at least three council members to discuss his status. The discussions with each elected official varied, but they all touched on either their desire that Sullard leave the job, or what he could do if he were no longer city manager.

Subsequently, during a Jan. 13 council meeting, Sullard announced he would present the council with a "separation agreement" that would end his 6 1/2-year run as city manager. On Jan. 27 the council approved Sullard's separation agreement and he was put paid administrative leave for his last month on the job.

Strickland said her allegations are backed up by comments city officials made to local media and statements during council meetings.

She said that during a recent council meeting Olsen said that the separation agreement was hashed out during individual meetings between council members and Sullard.

Olsen said he doesn't recall ever saying that, but if he did Olsen says he was wrong.

"I don't think there were any deliberations," Olsen said. "And a lot of what she implies was negotiated was in his original contract."

Sullard said Thursday, "There was no negotiation on the compensation."

But Sullard said that during those one-on-one talks with some council members some of them said that "my effectiveness as city manager was not there any more ... And some of them said it pretty strongly."

Strickland said she didn't want the separation agreement overturned, which could happen if the case goes to court and a judge finds the law was broken. Instead, Strickland said she would like the attorney general's office to censure the council and require them to attend a seminar or class on the open-meeting law.

Earlier this month Eric Herzik, a political science professor and interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada, Reno, said the Boulder City Council at least came close to breaking the law when they met individually with Sullard and talked about whether he should leave and how.

Herzik said the private meetings were "problematic" because a majority of council members had a series of individual meetings for a specific purpose. Serial meetings are specifically prohibited under a provision added to the open-meetings law in 2001.