Council meeting addresses social media guidelines

The Vallejo City Council held a special meeting on Thursday evening to discuss office supply reimbursement for council members, social media guidelines for elected and appointed city officials, and and update on city staff’s approach to litter and trash removal.

Councilmember Tina Arriola introduced the topic of office supplies after she said she had spent $270 in printer ink in just the first three months of her term. Councilmembers are also given a lot of paperwork to look over, and printing it all out to study, highlight, and prioritize can also be expensive, she said.

Other council members agreed that the paperwork was a challenge but a few said that they had apps on their computers that help

them avoid printing while still being able to highlight and organize the reams of information that they receive.

City Manager Greg Nyhoff was amenable to giving council members either $1000 a year stipend for supplies, or providing a computer, paper, printer, ink, and other materials for Arriola and others to use.

Mayor Robert McConnell pointed out that cities like Richmond and Berkeley have legislative assistants that help their council members — an idea that was greeted by enthusiasm, and some doubt to its feasibility. Council members agreed to discuss the idea during the upcoming goalsetting and budgeting sessions.

Councilmember Pippin Dew asked that the council add social media to the agenda to see if the city’s current policy is appropriate or should be expanded.

Both the mayor and city attorney pointed out that such policies are both a First Amendment “mine field” but also get complicated by the Brown Act. The act was passed in the 1950’s and basically bars council members from discussing anything pertaining to items on their agenda “in private” or “behind closed doors.” It also prohibits them from speaking to one another about said issues when not in session before the public. But the Brown Act was created before the internet and the meteoric rise of technology. Social media posts about city issues on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter can invite one or more council members to respond to a post, which technically could be in violation of the Brown Act, for example.

Knowing this, City Attorney Valerie Nebb said that she would be happy to look at the issue but that “it will take some time to develop” any new or expanded policies about posting on social media.

There was also discussion about barring all electronic devices during meetings, such as cell phones, due to the Brown Act. This would prevent council members from texting one another about issues being discussed out of the public’s eye, for example. However, parents on the council such as Hakeem Brown and Dew both said that as single parents, it is important that they have access to their cell phones at all times. Discussion of that matter and social media will both be agendized in the future.

Finally, the council was presented with a detailed report on trash and litter abatement in Vallejo. Public Works Director Terrance Davis was joined by other colleagues to update the body.

Davis said that illegal dumping and litter is still on the rise. In 2019, 1.5 million pounds was collected by the city and removed. In 2020 the number was 2.4 million pounds.

Currently there are two crews of two employees working full time to remove trash and illegal dumping that has been reported by citizens. One person has been moved from traffic to join the team, meaning vital resources are going to trash clean up that could be used elsewhere, he said.

Aside from the city crew, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District takes care of a “high volume” of waste left in parks and other areas. The Vallejo Flood and Waste District also does their fair share of cleaning up the city, as well and addressing

regulatory issues and community outreach.

Individuals in the community also do a lot of the footwork, he said. Organized “Tool Trailer” clean up events in neighborhoods every weekend collect bags of trash and the Adopt-AStreet program is returning. Businesses and nonprofits also pitch in.

Vallejo has stepped up its prosecution of illegal dumpers, said Deputy City Attorney Hai Phan. From 2019 to 2020, 43 cases came to their attention, 28 were filed, and 21 were resolved with community service and fines. Phan said that one person they prosecuted said that he had basically never expected the city to do anything about his dumping, but once he got caught, he said, “Oh my God, I won’t do it again.”

Catching illegal dumpers can be difficult. The city has cameras placed around town, but people cover up their plates or the images are just plain blurry in the first place.

The biggest solution to illegal dumping — and the biggest challenge — seems to be educating people about free options they have to get rid of trash besides dumping it by the side of the road. Residents are allowed two “bulky trash” pick-ups two days a year, for example, which allows people to toss 2 cubic yards of material each time, or ten 30-gallon bags worth of trash. Neighbors can also get together twice a year and ask the city for a Dumpster, which allows four or more households to get rid of “just about anything” according to public works. People who live in apartments can ask their manager to order bulky trash pick up, too.

To learn more about bulky trash and other ways to get rid of large items, go to recology.com and click on “bulky items.”