WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif — Questions surfaced about whether the West Sacramento mayor’s upcoming State of the City address is illegal and violates the Brown Act.
The Chamber of Commerce is selling tickets to the event for $150, which means not everyone will be available to attend.
On Thursday, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero will deliver her third State of the City address. It will be held at City Hall. Cocktails and dinner will be served as the Mayor touts the city’s achievements and talks about the future.
However for anyone wanting to attend, it will cost them $150 dollars for a seat or $1,750 for a table. If the price is out of reach, then the would-be buyer is out of luck.
David Loy with First Amendment Coalition says everyone has the right to attend.
“Any time you have a majority of the City Council gathering at one time and place to hear, discuss deliberate or vote on city business that is a meeting governed by the Brown Act. Under the Brown Act all meetings of the city council must be open to the public and the public has the right to attend and participate,” said Loy.
In a statement from the City of West Sacramento regarding the address and a Sacramento Bee story, which reported on the issue, the city said the State of the City is fully compliant with the Brown Act.
In party, the City said, "The event falls squarely under the exception found in Section 54952.2(c)(5), which excludes from the Brown Act 'The attendance of a majority of members of the legislative body at a purely social or ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.'"
Loy strongly disagrees and says the exemption is for things like a fundraising dinner for the Red Cross or a groundbreaking ceremony.
“The State of the City address, that is clearly city business that the public has the right to hear in person and should not be forced to pay for it,” said Loy.
The event is put on by the Chamber of Commerce, and this isn’t the first year they’ve charged. In fact, according to the city, it’s the 20th year – however, this is the most expensive ticket to date.
Last year, tickets were $125, and the year before they were $75.
“A pillar of democracy in California, it is baked not only in the statues but state constitution,” said Loy.
ABC10 found that other cities in California do sell tickets to the State of the City address, including cities like Pleasanton, Encinitas and Ontario.
The cost for those events are $65.
For the full statement from the City of West Sacramento, view below.
For more than 20 years, the West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce has collaborated with the City of West Sacramento to present the annual Mayor’s State of the City Address. This event brings together community members, business leaders, City staff and guests to celebrate West Sacramento’s successes, and hear the Mayor’s vision for the future. Other jurisdictions throughout the region host similar events.
The Mayor’s State of the City Address is fully compliant with the Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950-54963.) The event falls squarely under the exception found in Section 54952.2(c)(5), which excludes from the Brown Act “The attendance of a majority of members of the legislative body at a purely social or ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.”
The City Manager’s Office made multiple attempts to reach the reporter to provide clarifying information before publication, but our calls were not returned.
“We are disappointed that the Sacramento Bee chose to publish a poorly researched article that incorrectly asserts that the City is acting illegally by participating in this time-honored community event,” said City Manager Aaron Laurel.
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