The Brentwood City Council this week will consider a request to expand its own ability to mandate internal investigations of city employees. 

The request was brought forward by Councilmember Jovita Mendoza, who previously raised the point that former Parks and Recreation staff had contacted her about issues taking place behind the scenes of the department that oversees various city facilities, including the Brentwood Senior Activity Center and the aquatic complex, along with parks, events, trails and more. 

“I want to understand why staff is leaving,” Mendoza said during a Sept. 26 meeting. “I know some are leaving on their own accord — some have been asked to leave … Usually, if it’s a good place to work, people aren’t leaving.” 

She detailed issues ranging from park maintenance to canceled youth events that were never rescheduled and called for a third-party investigation of the department. The request was met with applause from the audience, many of whom had weighed in with concerns about how longtime Senior Center staff had disappeared, while citing a noticeable decline in services thereafter. 

I want to understand why staff is leaving … Usually, if it’s a good place to work, people aren’t leaving. Councilmember Jovita Mendoza

They held signs that read, “Former staff cared about us, treated us like family and friends, advocated for us” and “our seniors want accountability.” 

During that September meeting, now-retired City Attorney Damien Brower offered cautionary words to the council regarding the internal investigation and the possibility of violating staff privacy rights, which are strong for government employees in the state of California. 

“You’re responsible for giving direction on programs and policies. And except for two employees — the city manager and myself — you can’t involve yourself in employee issues or provide direction to other employees,” Brower said. “If your discussion involves employees and investigating employees, that’s not appropriate, and you’re not able to do so.” 

Getting down on ‘nitty gritty’

The conversation picked back up at a Nov. 14 City Council meeting when a request for proposals (RFP) was presented to the council to hire a consultant that would, for approximately $100,000, conduct a survey aimed at assessing Senior Center customer satisfaction. 

Mendoza questioned whether the municipal code could be updated to increase the number of employees required to report directly to the Council or give the body more authority to conduct an investigation. 

“We really need to get down to the nitty gritty of what’s going on, and why things aren’t getting done,” Mendoza said. “Is it people? Is it priorities? Is it management? Is it directors? What is it, and how do we fix it?” 

City Manager Tim Ogden explained that an investigation would not be part of the RFP’s scope of work and that issues will be managed internally. Mendoza questioned how problems could be solved at the Council level if the Council was kept in the dark about them. 

“We’re your manager, and what I’m hearing is I, as your manager, will never be privy to why there’s chaos in your department,” Mendoza said. 

Ogden shared generally that service delivery was interrupted due to staffing changes but could not offer specifics. Brower reiterated the Council’s limitations as a general law city.  

The Council will further discuss Mendoza’s request on Tuesday’s meeting.