City Council Ron Mullen Mayor John Treviño, Jr. Mayor Pro Tem Council Members Mark Rose Roger Duncan Sally Shipman Mark E. Spaeth Charles E. Urdy Nicholas M. Meiszer City Manager Elden Aldridge Acting City Clerk FOUNDED 1839 Austin City Council MINUTES For - 6:00 Ρ.Μ. SPECIAL CALLED MEETING - JANUARY 9, 1984 ELECTRIC BUILDING AUDITORIUM - 301 WEST AVENUE Council Chambers, 301 West Second Street, Austin, Texas Memorandum To: Mayor Pro Tem Trevino called to order the Special Called meeting of the Council, noting the absence of Mayor Mullen. He announced the purpose of the meeting is to meet jointly with the Ethics Review Commission to consider provision of legal services to the Ethics Review Commission. Mr. Clarence F. Neibuhr, chairperson, Ethics Review Commission, addressed Council. He said their mission is to keep out conflict of interest and when on August 16 they accepted a complaint against Mayor Mullen they decided it would be a conflict of interest to have the City Attorney, who is assigned to them as their staff assistant, to be involved in a complaint or working with a situation where the Mayor, a member of the Council, or the City Manager or the Deputy City Manager was involved. The Commission voted unanimously to provide an independent counsel for any of these people who might be involved in an ethics hearing. Mayor Pro Tem Trevino said Council, during its work sessions, have discussed the matter and have gone broader concerning the revision of the Ordinance. "But for tonight's meeting we will focus on whether we will provide independent legal counsel for the Ethics Commission." Councilmember Rose said the new state law is not as restrictive and Council should select an attorney for this specific case. Councilmember Duncan agreed. He said this specific problem discussed tonight was not envisioned when the Ethics Review Ordinance was passed. Mr. Neibuhr said it is felt an independent counsel should be selected. Discussion followed concerning the selection of legal counsel and Council agreed they will only support the concept if the selection is made from lawyers recommended by the Bar Association. C Council Memo : 2 1/9/84 More discussion followed. Mr. Neibuhr said the lawyers recommended by the Bar Association will be asked to submit their resumes to the Ethics Commission for consideration. Motion The Council, on Councilmember Duncan's motion, Councilmember Rose's second, approved the Ethics Commission select a recommendation from the list of attorneys recommended by the Bar Association for this case only. (6-0 Vote, Mayor Mullen absent.) ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned its meeting at 7:00 p.m.