Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mr. Klein provided an overview of the process for handling complaints against employees of the council. He said the council had to determine if it had sufficient information to act on the complaint; if it determined there was sufficient information, the council could deliberate and take action or postpone action to a future council meeting. He said if the council determined that more information was needed, it would move to the full investigation step in the process and hire an independent investigator. He said the complaint alleged that photographs contained in the Internal Affairs (IA) database were released by the Police Auditor to a private attorney and the release of those photographs was improper and violated the confidentiality agreement. He said Interim Police Auditor Dawn Reynolds had responded that she had released the photographs, but they were of the individual represented by the attorney, the photographs would have been discoverable in any event, and release of that kind of information was consistent with the way the police auditor’s office had acted since its inception. Ms. Ortiz did not want to spend any more funds on an investigation and did not believe it was necessary. She regretted that she had not had more specific information about the complaint at an earlier point in the process and felt it had received more attention than it required. She had hoped there would be an opportunity for Ms. Reynolds to respond directly to the council about the complaint without having to hire an attorney. She questioned whether Ms. Reynolds decided independently to release the photographs or had been taught that was an acceptable practice by the previous auditor. She said the practice of releasing information from the IA database should be stopped, and Ms. Reynolds should adhere to the confidentiality agreement. She wanted to return Ms. Reynolds to work and have a mediator work with Ms. Reynolds and Deputy Auditor Elizabeth Southworth to resolve outstanding issues to assure the office of the auditor operated smoothly until a new police auditor was hired. Ms. Piercy agreed the City should facilitate mediation between Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Southworth. Mr. Klein added that a member of the council and a city attorney with expertise in personnel matters should also speak with Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Southworth to clarify expectations and assure both parties understood obligations and concerns with respect to the aftermath of a whistle-blowing incident. Mr. Clark looked forward to a police auditor system that would operate smoothly and routinely, without so much controversy. He cited comments from a candidate for the auditor position that the job was to follow the law and go where it might lead, which was a good guide to handling the current situation. He agreed with many of Ms. Ortiz’s points, but felt the confidentiality agreement Ms. Reynolds had signed was an issue. He said the agreement prohibited the release of any information from the IA database for any reason. He asked Mr. Klein to read the relevant section of the confidentiality memorandum of agreement (MOU) and indicate whether that granted Ms. Reynolds the ability to make a decision to share certain types of information. Mr. Klein noted that the language was in the MOU signed by Ms. Reynolds in January 2009; it was not reflected in ordinance or statute. He read the following: “I agree that I will keep strictly confidential: any information observed or obtained from any local, state or federal criminal justice systems, electronic patient health information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, confidential personnel records, and any other restricted data. I agree that I will only use and disseminate Internal Affairs case file information and data from the IA database in the performance of my official duties, in that I will not knowingly allow any unauthorized access to the data. I understand that to use the confidential and restricted information outside of my official duties may be a violation of law.” Mr. Clark asked if under the agreement Ms. Reynolds had the ability to decide what information she did or did not share. Mr. Klein said to the extent that something fell under one of the provisions in the agreement, there was no discretion at all and restricted information could not be released. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 13, 2009 Page 5 Work Session