RMA
changes policy on release of financial information to members
Published
Monday, January 26, 2004
The
Rancho Murieta Association has revised its policy for granting
members access to employee salary information and the association's
financial records.
A new
law (see it here)
that took effect Jan. 1 expands members' access to this
information.
In December,
the board approved an "admonition notice" (see
it here) that
members were required to sign before they could receive
employee compensation information. The form was developed
by the California Association of Community Managers and
provided to the board by General Manager Greg Vorster.
Two
RMA members, Bobbi Belton and Wilbur Haines, refused to
sign the form when they requested pay and other financial
information from the association early this month. Both
submitted public letters of protest to the board. (See their
letters here.)
"RMA's
'admonition' goes much further than the law permits, by
requiring Members to compromise their lawful right to discuss
and debate what they discover in the Association's own books,"
Haines wrote in his letter, which included attachments of
the code section and the Legislature's discussion and analysis
of the bill that created it.
The
admonition notice stated that the information could not
be discussed at RMA meetings, with non-members or with members
who had not signed the notice, nor could it be "disseminated
in any written form."
By the
time of the January board meeting, the board had reopened
discussion on the admonition notice, and modifications to
the notice had been proposed.
The
board considered these during a discussion at last week's
meeting. Director Dick Cox also distributed a letter he
wrote.
Cox
said he wanted the "harassing language" of the
admonition letter removed. "The law as written does
not require us to admonish anyone," he said. "...
I think we should put in there that we welcome the request."
Director
Elliot Sevier said he found it "hard to oppose"
Cox's intent, but believed the board had an obligation to
protect the privacy and the rights of RMA employees. Members
should be warned they "better be careful ... We have
an obligation to tell you you're exposing yourself to liability,"
he commented.
After
a half-hour discussion, the board voted to modify the admonition
notice and eliminate the signature requirement. In place
of the notice, the board adopted a cover letter (see the
letter here) written by
Vorster.
The
letter does not contain specific prohibitions against communicating
information.
The
letter does caution members who request employee compensation
information that misuse could expose them to liability and/or
disciplinary action by the association. It states provisions
of the new law that prohibit the sale or any commercial
use of the information.
The
letter also informs members they could expose themselves
to liability if they use the information "to threaten
or harass any employee or otherwise infringe upon any RMA
employee's right of privacy ... ." This section refers
to a different law that protects an employee's privacy rights.
Still
at issue apparently is what material the RMA will release.
In addition
to payroll information, Haines asked for contracts the association
has with a consultant. When asked about this after the meeting,
President Paul Gumbinger said the association provided Haines
with the amounts that were paid to the consultant and with
employee payroll information. "Wilbur wanted the contracts,
but that's not part of accounting books and records as far
as we're concerned," he said.
At the
meeting, when Haines was asked by Sevier why he wanted the
contracts, he responded that they are "transactional
documents" and qualify for release under the law, which
supports "the right of homeowners to follow the money."
Board
seeks open space answers
The
board declined to hire a consultant to review the draft
supplemental environmental impact report for Lakeview, a
Murieta South subdivision, and the zoning ordinance amendment
for the Rancho Murieta bridge crossing, which have been
released by the county Department of Environmental Review
and Assessment. Instead, the board opted to "get answers
to our questions from the county," as Director Dick
Cox put it.
A partial
review that focused on traffic and open space issues would
have cost $3,000, while a full review of the document would
cost $10,000, General Manager Greg Vorster said.
The
board did decide to investigate hiring a consultant when
the EIR for the Retreat projects and the Residences of Murieta
Hills is released by the county. Those are the first of
the 1,100 homes planned for Murieta North by developer Murieta
Holdings. The comprehensive EIR was begun several years
ago and is still being worked on by planning agencies.
The
Lakeview subdivision was previously approved by the county.
It was resubmitted for county approval about two years ago
because the map has expired. The property is owned by developer
Reynen & Bardis.
One
of the big questions the board wants the county to address
is how much acreage in the 3,500-acre Rancho Murieta planned
development is meant to be developed. The Lakeview EIR uses
a figure of 1,900 acres. Development opponents say 850 acres
were designated for development in the 1973 EIR and 1974
community plan, and the county planning department has yet
to prove that the number has changed.
"Let
them refute the 850 acres," said Cox.
Development
opponent Candy Chand told the board, "We want to see
a document with some hard numbers."
"We
want to know what the open space is just as much as you
do," Director Elliot Sevier remarked.
Sevier
said he wanted county planners to preserve groves of oak
trees in Lakeview. President Paul Gumbinger would like to
see lots reconfigured or eliminated to save more trees.
He also wants the development fees from the project designated
for Highway 16 improvements.
The
RMA board's letter to the county containing its comments
can be seen here. You
can read the county report and other Rancho Murieta documents
here
at the county site..
The
Lakeview EIR and the bridge ordinance amendment are available
online at www.dera.saccounty.net. The bridge amendment deals
with revisions to the requirement for the South developer
to provide a river crossing and includes a funding mechanism
that was created to pay for the construction of a new bridge.
In exchange for this commitment, the developer was allowed
to continue building beyond the 60lst home on the South.
Now
that the draft EIR has been completed, the Lakeview project
and the
ordinance amendment for the bridge will go through a public
hearing process for approval.
'Town
hall' runs again
When
directors raised questions about a "town hall"
tape that didn't run as
scheduled, they were told by General Manager Greg Vorster
that Murieta
Holdings developer Gerry N. Kamilos asked to have the tape
taken off the air early.
Vorster
said the tape began airing every three hours on Monday,
Jan. 12, and was taken off the air on Wednesday, instead
of running through the week as scheduled.
There
were technical problems on that Wednesday and the video
quit running anyway, Vorster said.
When
he was contacted last week, Kamilos said the RMA had possession
of the tape from the time it was dropped off at the RMA
on Sunday evening, Jan. 11, until it was picked up on Jan.
20. The tape failed to air on Wednesday and Thursday because
of technical problems, he said.
At Kamilos'
request, the tape went back on the air Friday to run through
the
weekend of Jan.17, Vorster said.
Candy
Chand and other opponents of Murieta Holdings' plans to
develop 1,100 homes in Murieta North appear on the tape
during the contentious public comment period that followed
the developers' brief update.
Chand
contacted the RMA when the tape disappeared from Channel
5 on Wednesday. At the RMA meeting, she told the directors
the tape did not run over the weekend of the 17th, as it
was supposed to. Vorster said some people he's heard from
say it did run, while others say it didn't.
Last
week, Cable TV Manager Doug Mack said it was very likely
that the tape didn't air the weekend of the 17th because
of intermittent technical problems caused by a faulty VCR,
the same reason the video quit several days earlier. The
VCR has since been replaced.
Mack
said the January meeting was the first one he'd been asked
to stop running before the scheduled week was up.
At the
board meeting, President Paul Gumbinger instructed staff
to ask if Kamilos would return the tape so it could be played
on Channel 5 again. Kamilos agreed and the tape was dropped
off last Friday to run every three hours until noon Monday.
At the
present time, the developers pay the RMA for the production
of their tape and they retain ownership of it.
Approved
contracts
The
board approved the purchase of a replacement walker mower
and power dump for the Maintenance Department at a cost
not to exceed $12,500.
The
Cosumnes River Little League contract for the use of playing
fields at Stonehouse and Riverview parks was approved and
the lease cost of $3,925 was waived because the league has
contributed improvements to Stonehouse Park that are valued
at between $125,000 and $150,000, according to Director
Mike Martel.
The
board also approved the Elk Grove Soccer League contract,
which pays the RMA $2,700 for the use of the playing fields.
The
MTV cable TV contract has been renewed for seven years.
