Fire Districts Association of California
Certificate of Achievement Module 2: Legal Authority
Hypothetical #1:
You are on a California Fire Protection District five member Board of Directors. The regularly scheduled meeting is about to begin and three of the five board members are in attendance. The meeting has been appropriately noticed and posted.
As the board starts through the agenda, a controversial matter regarding the payment of the bills comes up. It seems that one of your colleagues on the board does not approve of paying for fuel for a mutual aid response to assist a neighboring agency. He thinks that the requesting agency should foot the bill for the fuel.
After a lengthy discussion, the board chair calls for a vote. The vote is 2 to 1 in favor of paying the bills. You and the board chair vote in favor of paying the bills while the third member is the dissenter.
Discuss this sequence of events in your group and, as a group, address the following questions:
- Is this a legal board meeting?
- What is the agreement regarding the master mutual aid agreement regarding payment?
- Was the vote legal?
- What other issues do you see?
Fire Districts Association of California
Certificate of Achievement Module 2: Legal Authority
Hypothetical #2:
You are on a California Fire Protection District five member Board of Directors. The regularly scheduled meeting is about to begin and all of the five board members are in attendance. The meeting has been appropriately noticed and posted.
Under the item on the agenda titled, “Chiefs Report”, one of your colleagues on the Board, Director Jones, brings forward an idea to increase revenue in order to start providing ambulance service. It seems that Director Jones owns a small company that produces electricity from avocado pits. His proposal is for the District to buy the equipment from his company, and then to take over providing electricity to the local community. There will be a capital investment during the start-up, but the return is estimated to be more than enough to pay for the ambulance service. After all, your district is in the guacamole capital of the world and the entire community is up to their elbows in pits!
On a 4 to 1 vote, the proposal is approved and the Chief is directed to move forward on the proposal.
Discuss the issues in your group and list the issues that you believe are either a legal violation or exceeding the Board’s authority.
Fire Districts Association of California
Certificate of Achievement Module 2: Legal Authority
Hypothetical #3:
You are on the board for a California Fire Protection District that overlaps state responsibility area with CDF. You are part of a five member Board of Directors. The regularly scheduled meeting is about to begin all of the five board members are in attendance. The meeting has been appropriately noticed and posted.
Under the “public comment” section of the agenda, a citizen comes forward (a rare occurrence) and has a complaint. He refuses to identify himself. His complaint is that CDF came out to his property and is making him clear brush around his house. He doesn’t think he should have to do it since he has been a resident within the fire district for over 30 years and CDF can’t tell him what to do. He is also upset about some new “SRA fire fees” that he has heard will be on his property tax bills and wonders why you are charging him.
The board chair responds saying that since he did not identify himself, the board will not address his concerns.
After discussion as a group, address the following questions:
- Is it appropriate for a citizen to address the board on this item when it is not specifically on the agenda?
- Does CDF have the authority to require the brush clearance around a residence in this case?
- Address the concern regarding the SRA fees and benefit to the district.
- Can the board require a person to identify themselves before allowing them to speak or to address their concern?
Fire Districts Association of California
Certificate of Achievement Module 2: Legal Authority
Hypothetical #4:
You are on a California Fire Protection District five member Board of Directors. The regularly scheduled meeting is about to begin with all of the five board members are in attendance. The meeting has been appropriately noticed and posted.
The District is building a new fire station. A number of people are present in the audience, including all seven of the contractors who bid the project. There is a lot of competition since construction has been slow in the area and they all want the job.
Due to the complexity of the bids and the number of people, the board chair calls for a closed session so that the “board can discuss the bids and award the winning bid.” The closed session is not on the agenda.
After a one hour closed session, the board comes out and awards the bid to a local contractor, one of the captain’s uncles. When asked what the bids were, the board stated that they are “confidential due to complexities that the public would not understand”.
After discussion as a group, address the following questions:
- Was the board authorized to call for a closed session under these circumstances?
- Was the bid appropriately awarded? Why or why not?
- What about awarding the bid to the captain’s uncle?
- What is the remedy in this situation?
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