Patricia Hickman: Turlock’s city attorney erred in farmers market advice

I am preplexed about the Turlock City Council’s actions regarding the farmers market. It seems this whole situation could have been avoided had City Attorney Phaedra Norton done her due diligence. I see three instances in which I would have thought any city attorney would have advised the council differently: 1) For a market to qualify as a certified market, a farmer cannot both run the event and have a booth in it. 2) Due dilligence would have certainly shone a light on the fact that having a non-profit and a for-profit organiztion working together would need to go through a lengthy IRS approval process. 3) What about the significant campaign contributions city council members received from families connected to the for-profit market?

This might not be illegal, but I question the ethics of those accepting campaign donations then voting on an issue requested by the same person.

We are paying a city attorney approximately $170,00 a year. In this instance, it is evident she had not thoroughly reviewed the requests concering the market. Shouldn’t city officals be more accountable?

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Patricia Hickman: Turlock’s city attorney erred in farmers market advice."