Government watchdog sues Riverbank over records on employee pay
A nonprofit that tracks public employee pay has taken Riverbank to court, asking a judge to order the city to provide a list of its employees by name with their 2019 compensation, including salary, overtime and benefits.
The Nevada Policy Research Institute filed the action Nov. 20 in Stanislaus County Superior Court. It seeks an order to compel the city to comply, a judgment that the city has violated the California Public Records Act, its legal and other costs, and any other relief the judge may deem appropriate.
Riverbank has provided a list of 2019 compensation by job titles for 98 employees, from full-timers to part-timers, but not the names.
The research institute operates Transparent California, a website that tracks public employee compensation in the state. The center also operates Transparent Nevada, which tracks the same information.
The California Public Records Act clearly states the public is entitled to the names and compensation of public employees. The information is a staple for nonprofits, the media, government watchdogs, as well as residents who want to know how their government spends their money.
The lawsuit says Riverbank provided Transparent California with a listing of job titles with compensation but not employee names, despite several email requests from mid-October to early November with Riverbank City Clerk Annabelle Aguilar.
Riverbank only city that did not comply
Transparent California Executive Director Robert Fellner said in a news release that Riverbank is the only Stanislaus County city that refused to comply with its request.
“While 99% of cities (across California) provide this information without issue, Riverbank simply refuses to recognize its obligations under the state’s open records law, which requires much more than merely providing copies of existing documents or reports,” Fellner said in the release.
The lawsuit states Riverbank provided this information when Transparent California requested it in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. And emails attached to the lawsuit state Riverbank provided two lists in 2018, one with compensation by job title and another with employee names, and Transparent California created its own record based on the lists.
Fellner accused Riverbank of acting in bad faith when the city clerk stated Riverbank could not do the same now without charging Transparent California to produce a report with the information it sought. The clerk cited $175 for the first hour and $200 for each hour after that for the city’s website consultant to create the report.
The Public Records Act allows agencies to charge for the direct cost of creating records, such as costs related to computer programming. There is no cost to look at existing records, but agencies can charge for copying them.
Doug White with Churchwell White LLP — the law firm that provides city attorney services for Riverbank — said Riverbank used a different computer system when it provided records from 2011 to 2016. He said Riverbank switched to another system in 2018, and records with compensation by employee titles and names were no longer available.
Better communication skills?
White said a then-new city employee created records in 2018 for Transparent California at no charge. None of the city clerk’s emails to Transparent California explains any of this.
“One of the lessons to be learned from this is to improve our communication skills,” White said.
White stressed the city clerk consistently stated Riverbank would fully comply with the request but it would charge for having to create records. White — who learned about the lawsuit and records request Monday — said that based on what he knows, this whole matter simply could have been a misunderstanding.
But Fellner said Monday he believes the records his nonprofit sought exist. For instance, he said, Riverbank could have provided Transparent California with the W2 tax information for its employees with the appropriate blacking out of such personal information as home addresses and Social Security numbers. He said that is something smaller agencies do to comply with Transparent California’s requests.
Fellner said the public records act requires governments to help those seeking records, for instance by offering suggestions on how they can overcome obstacles. He said Riverbank has not done any of that.
Council, city manager copied on last email
Transparent California’s last email to the city clerk is dated Nov. 6, and the nonprofit copied all five members of the City Council, as well as the city manager. The email said it was the nonprofit’s last attempt to get the records without litigation.
According to the lawsuit, the list Riverbank provided Transparent California is the same one it provided the California State Controller’s Office, which maintains a database of employee compensation by job title for cities and other public agencies, but does not include names.
The list includes 98 titles, from full-timers to part-timers. The salaries range from $153,785 for the city manager and $118,442 for the public works director to $4,200 for council members and a few hundred dollars for part-time parks and recreation program specialists.
The list does not include public safety employees. Riverbank contracts with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department and Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District for those services.
