By Niki Cervantes
Staff Writer

December 15, 2015 -- The City Council Tuesday night will consider an independent review of Santa Monica’s anti-corruption law that could cost taxpayers more than $400,000.

The item on Tuesday’s consent calendar would authorize City Manager Rick Cole to negotiate a contract with California-based Hueston Hennigan, LLP, in an amount not to exceed $420,000, including a 5 percent contingency.

“The outside advisor will conduct an independent and balanced review of city practices and how they align with good governance principles of accountability, transparency, responsiveness, and the highest ideals of public service,” Cole wrote in a report to the Council.

The Council voted on November 10 to hire the firm headed by John Hueston, who was the lead investigator in the prosecution of Enron in the price-rigging case.

Hueston Hennigan was one of six law firms or experts in governance issues considered for the review. Costs per hour ranged from $250 an hour for academic experts to $750 for attorneys.

Hueston’s proposal was in the middle, asking for a rate of $545 an hour “for all attorneys working on the matter.” It said the investigation would require up to three months.

The outside review of City corruption-fighting practices comes in the wake of last year’s hiring and firing of Elizabeth Riel as the City’s information officer.

Riel was fired in May of last year shortly before she was scheduled to start after it was learned she had helped bankroll a 2006 campaign hit piece against Council member Pam O’Connor (“Offer Rescinded to Political Activist,” May 29, 2014).

O’Connor has denied allegations that she waged a relentless, behind-the-scenes campaign against Riel. Doing so would be a violation of the Oaks Initiative, a City law that, among other prohibitions, forbids Council members from being involved in personnel matters.

Riel sued the City in federal court alleging that her First Amendment Rights had been violated and received a $710,000 settlement approved by the Council in July.

The City Attorney’s Office and county prosecutors declined to get involved after calls by local activists for investigations (“County Prosecutors Reject Santa Monica Council member Probe,” October 27, 2015).

The Riel issue was a key reason the City Council decided to call in an outside expert to review how the City handles possible corruption issues.

The Council is worried that the Oaks Initiative approved overwhelmingly in November of 2000 in Santa Monica and in other California cities isn’t specific enough and may not be enforceable.

The Council would like to know who the corruption law applies to and under what circumstances.

Those questions put the Oaks Initiative in the headlines again earlier this month, when members of the Transparency Project announced they had won a settlement against former City Manager Rod Gould for allegedly violating the law (“Former Santa Monica Manger Settles Conflict of Interest Lawsuit,” December 2, 2015).

According to the motion before the City Council, Hueston Hennigan would be hired to review the “events and processes pertaining to the Elizabeth Riel matter” and assess the Oaks Initiative and the “efficacy of existing laws, rules and procedures.”

The firm also would identify municipal “best practices” and draft a report with findings and recommendations to present to the Council.