The Colusa City Council last week rejected a first draft of a donation policy as officials work to implement controls that would allow the city to ask for public support for recreation and programs and city-sponsored events without creating a perception of conflict.
City officials said Colusa has long accepted donations, such as sponsorships for Concerts in the Park and land grants for public parks, but never implemented an actual policy, which is common in most jurisdictions.
City Manager Jesse Cain suggested the city might want to adopt a non-transparent policy in which designated donations would be managed and controlled by city staff, except for amounts greater than $50,000, to limit the council’s exposure to influence.
“The biggest purpose and reason for that is that (the City Council) would know how much money was donated but not necessity who – and that’s because if something were to happen down the road and there was an item before you guys, you can’t be accused of ‘you only voted for this because you gave me $15,000.’”
That notion, however, did not sit well with some council members, especially given the level of secrecy behind a slew of donations solicited and received over the summer from businesses working with city staff on matters before the Planning Commission and City Council.
“Our staff could be under the same influence,” said Councilman Greg Ponciano, who opposed any policy that lacks transparency.
The proposed Colusa policy is nearly identical to the City of Goleta, a city in Santa Barbara County, and is similar to other jurisdictions that have policies for the acceptance of donations.
According to the proposed Colusa policy, a department head can accept donations up to $10,000 ($5,000 in Goleta), and the city manager can accept up to $50,000 ($10,000 in Goleta).
Colusa’s proposal states that donations of cash or items valued at $50,000 or higher must be accepted and approved by the City Council only through a written agreement. The City of Goleta policy has the same verbiage but requires donations of $10,000 or more be accepted and approved by the City Council.
Colusa’s proposed policy, like those of most cities, requires all donors to fill out a “Donor Acceptance Form,” which includes their name and address, estimated/actual value of the donation (cash or real property), intended use, etc.
The policy acknowledges that the Donation Acceptance Form are public records and that they are to be forwarded as information (consent agenda) to the City Council.
Cain did not specify if he planned to redact (censor or obscure the text) so that the names of the donors would not be visible, should the City Council opt for secrecy, or if he planned to withhold them entirely from the agenda, but forward them to council members via email only.
All donations to the city are public money, thus subject to public disclosure, the policy states.
Ponciano said he was not comfortable that the City Council would choose not to know about donations, nor was he comfortable with a donation policy that did not specifically address guidelines for soliciting money by city staff, who wield influence over council decisions via their recommendations.
Policies among jurisdictions, however, do vary. Some cities require all fundraising campaigns be approved in advance by the City Council before any solicitations occur. Others have varying amounts that can be expended without City Council authorization, whether donations are designated for a specific purpose or undesignated.
The proposed Colusa policy states that donations under $1,000 would be deposited into the General Fund donation account. Designated donations over $1,000 would be deposited into the appropriate revenue account for the department for which the funds are intended.
The policy states that “undesignated” donations in the amount of $10,000 to $25,000 would be deposited to a Community Projects Fund, to be distributed at the sole discretion of the city manager. Undesignated donations of $25,000 or more would be distributed at the discretion of the City Council, although Council members said they were not opposed to lowering those figures so the City Council has greater control over how undesignated funds are spent.
City Attorney Ryan Jones said he would look at other policies regarding donations and solicitations and bring another draft before the City Council, possibly by the next meeting.
Colusa Finance Director Ishrat Aziz-Khan assured the council that all donations would be properly accounted for and expended for the public’s benefit.
The city intends to reserve the right to decline any donation, upon review, if determined not to be in the best interest of the city.
“All donations, in general, are for the community’s benefit,” Cain said. ■