LBCC Admin. Quietly Provides List of Previously Non-Itemized Expenditures Under $25k Persistently Pursued By Trustee Sunny Zia
Sup't-Pres. Oakley Says A New Electronic Board Agenda Mgm't System With Greater Access To Details Has Been Discussed For Over A Year And Will Be Rolled Out January; Board VP Otto Seeks Study Session On Practices And Implementation Costs
(Nov. 26, 2014, 9:20 a.m.) -- LBCC's administration has effectively acquiesced in Trustee Sunny Zia's persistent pursuit of itemized lists of monthly expenditures under $25,000 -- which often total six and seven figure sums -- declining each month to join in approving a collectively totaled sum without seeing the specific items comprising the total that Trustees are asked to approve. Trustee Zia said the issue to her was a matter of transparency and accountability, and maintained her stance consistently since taking office in July 2014.
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The turn of events became evident during the Board's November 11 meeting...although the agendized materials gave no indication it was coming.
LBREPORT.com provides quick-launch extended audio of salient portions of what took place. To launch, click here. (MP3, length = 55:41, edits indicated with a "whoosh" sound)
As at prior meetings, the Nov. 11 Board agenda's consent calendar again included a non-itemized total of spending items under $25,000; Trustee Zia again pulled the item for discussion and indicated that management had provided her [and apparently also other Trustees] with an itemized list of the most recent month's expenditures under $25,000 (totaling roughly $772,000.)
Trustee Zia thanked LBCC management, indicated she'd like to see subject matter detail in listing the spending items, said nothing looked objectionable to her, asked that the list be attached to the Board's minutes (so the public can see it) and thanked her fellow Trustees' for their commitment to increasing transparency.
Trustee Otto (who at the Oct. 28 meeting wasn't supportive of Trustee Zia's stance) said he saw nothing wrong with adding the itemized list to the minutes and invited staff to explain some of the itemized spending items under $25,000.
No Trustees publicly credited or thanked Trustee Zia for any role in the change.
Trustee Board President Jeff Kellogg invited Superintendent-President Oakley to present his regular monthly report, which included a Power Point presentation on items related to transparency and financial oversight. Sup't-Pres. Oakley stated that LBCC has been making efforts to enhance access to information that had been ongoing for the better part of a year and a half in discussion. He said the district is dedicated to transparency, has internal financial oversight practices in place...and is converting to a new paperless electronic board agenda management system that, with associated staff changes, will make it easier for Trustees and the public to access board agendas and backup documents. "In the future, someone can go to the website and click on the agenda, they don't have to come to the office and request or come to the meeting to actually view the agenda," Sup't-Pres. Oakley said.
[LBREPORT.com finds the latter statement puzzling, since LBCC Board agendas are already online and have been for some time on a link here within Sup't-Pres. Oakley's LBCC webpages.]
Sup't-Pres. Oakley said he appreciated comments made by all the Trustees "and we are taking that information and trying to incorporate it into the way forward." He added that the "President and Vice Presidents don't generate this data; this data is generated by administrative assistants at the lowest level, making the purchases that are all under $25,000 so it's going to take time to ensure we have the appropriate staffing...and that we have the appropriate software so all this information can be uploaded in the way that it's easier to access, but we're committed to that."
Trustee Zia said she didn't expect the Power Point presentation, thanked LBCC management for it, thanked the public for their comments, inquired about a number of the purchase order items and received responses.
Vice President Otto then indicated that Trustees always have an opportunity to ask questions of staff, as he said he's regularly done for ten years, before Board meetings...and suggested that based on Sup't-Pres. Oakley's presentation, that the Board hold a Study Session about the procedures and policies, whether they need to be revised, how much it costs or time it would take to change software systems, hire additional staff, so the board can discuss in public the best way to do these things. Sup't-Pres. Oakley said this is reasonable but recommended it be held after implementing the new electronic board agenda system, expected in January.
Trustee Zia made a motion (seconded by Trustee Archuleta) to ensure a similar list of itemized expenditures under $25,000 will be provided at the December Board meeting. President Kellogg questioned whether a non-agendized action-motion was proper under the Brown Act and suggested that management simply provide a December list similar to what it provided in November; Trustee Zia agreed to this and withdraw her motion. Zia also indicated she welcomes a future Study Session discussion of the issues.
As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, words flew at the Oct. 28 Board meeting over transparency and oversight when Trustee Zia chided her Trustee colleagues for routinely approving spending items under $25,000 (at that meeting totaled over $1,000,000) without seeing what they were.
That hit like cold water on a hot pan (Oct. 28 video here)...and defensive reactions from board President Kellogg and board VP Otto produced negative responses on social media and begat public support for Trustee Zia's stance. At the Nov. 11 board meeting (prior to public revelation of the change), a number of public speakers used the period for comment on non-agendized item to support Trustee Zia's stance and urged greater openness.
