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Mr. Clark arrived at 6:35 p.m. and Ms. Piercy reconvened the work session. <br /> <br />Mr. Klein provided an overview of the process for handling complaints against employees of the council. He <br />said the council had to determine if it had sufficient information to act on the complaint; if it determined there <br />was sufficient information, the council could deliberate and take action or postpone action to a future council <br />meeting. He said if the council determined that more information was needed, it would move to the full <br />investigation step in the process and hire an independent investigator. He said the complaint alleged that <br />photographs contained in the Internal Affairs (IA) database were released by the Police Auditor to a private <br />attorney and the release of those photographs was improper and violated the confidentiality agreement. He said <br />Interim Police Auditor Dawn Reynolds had responded that she had released the photographs, but they were of <br />the individual represented by the attorney, the photographs would have been discoverable in any event, and <br />release of that kind of information was consistent with the way the police auditor’s office had acted since its <br />inception. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz did not want to spend any more funds on an investigation and did not believe it was necessary. She <br />regretted that she had not had more specific information about the complaint at an earlier point in the process <br />and felt it had received more attention than it required. She had hoped there would be an opportunity for Ms. <br />Reynolds to respond directly to the council about the complaint without having to hire an attorney. She <br />questioned whether Ms. Reynolds decided independently to release the photographs or had been taught that was <br />an acceptable practice by the previous auditor. She said the practice of releasing information from the IA <br />database should be stopped, and Ms. Reynolds should adhere to the confidentiality agreement. She wanted to <br />return Ms. Reynolds to work and have a mediator work with Ms. Reynolds and Deputy Auditor Elizabeth <br />Southworth to resolve outstanding issues to assure the office of the auditor operated smoothly until a new police <br />auditor was hired. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy agreed the City should facilitate mediation between Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Southworth. Mr. Klein <br />added that a member of the council and a city attorney with expertise in personnel matters should also speak <br />with Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Southworth to clarify expectations and assure both parties understood obligations <br />and concerns with respect to the aftermath of a whistle-blowing incident. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark looked forward to a police auditor system that would operate smoothly and routinely, without so <br />much controversy. He cited comments from a candidate for the auditor position that the job was to follow the <br />law and go where it might lead, which was a good guide to handling the current situation. He agreed with many <br />of Ms. Ortiz’s points, but felt the confidentiality agreement Ms. Reynolds had signed was an issue. He said the <br />agreement prohibited the release of any information from the IA database for any reason. He asked Mr. Klein to <br />read the relevant section of the confidentiality memorandum of agreement (MOU) and indicate whether that <br />granted Ms. Reynolds the ability to make a decision to share certain types of information. <br /> <br />Mr. Klein noted that the language was in the MOU signed by Ms. Reynolds in January 2009; it was not <br />reflected in ordinance or statute. He read the following: <br /> <br />“I agree that I will keep strictly confidential: any information observed or obtained from any local, state or <br />federal criminal justice systems, electronic patient health information protected by the Health Insurance <br />Portability and Accountability Act, confidential personnel records, and any other restricted data. I agree that I <br />will only use and disseminate Internal Affairs case file information and data from the IA database in the <br />performance of my official duties, in that I will not knowingly allow any unauthorized access to the data. I <br />understand that to use the confidential and restricted information outside of my official duties may be a violation <br />of law.” <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 13, 2009 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />