Did a Sacramento County board flout an open meeting law? Expert weighs in
An expert in open government called the recent events at a Sacramento County government meeting very troubling.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission was scheduled to discuss and approve its budget on Thursday. The public body, which funds Sacramento public media institutions, was supposed to determine how much funding would be allocated to the various media nonprofits for the upcoming fiscal year. These recipients fund media programs for students and allow residents access to media equipment and classes.
The commissioners went into closed session in a room right next door to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors’ chambers where the public portion of the meeting was held. The agenda lists an “Initiation Of Litigation Pursuant To Paragraph (4) Of Subdivision (d) Of Section 54956.9: 1 Case,” as an item up for discussion during the closed session. Section 54956.9 refers to allowing a government body to hold a closed session meeting.
Meeting attendees, who came to hear about the budget, were not privy to the discussion but could view through an interior window what visuals were presented.
There, commissioners sat in front of a screen depicting a graph showing revenues for a nonprofit, called Access Sacramento, which largely draws money allocated by the cable commission. The picture was entitled “Access Sacramento PEG Fee Funding,” referring to public education, government equipment and facility purposes.
Another graph also flashed on the screen, titled “projected PEG Fee Revenue Decline FY 2025-26 Through FY 2029-30.” The commission’s Executive Director Shawn Ayala stood in front of commissioners, and gestured to the screen. Another commissioner flipped through pages.
It is not clear what was discussed during the meeting. But any discussion of about approving a budget must happen in open session, said David Loy, the legal director for the First Amendment Coalition.
There is not a definitive answer to know if Thursday’s closed session meeting amounted to a violation of the Brown Act, the state law that ensures open meeting access, because there is not a solid understanding of what was discussed during the meeting, Loy said.
Elected officials may discuss items meant for public consumption in closed session if the material is relevant to litigation. But, government officials may not make substantive decisions about the budget or debate approving or rejecting the budget, Loy said.
Nothing is more fundamental to government accountability than how it spends money, Loy said. An agency’s budget speaks to its priorities and policies.
“The budget is everything,” he said.
After about 30 minutes, the commissioners strode out of the closed session. An attorney contracted by the commission said there was nothing report out of the meeting.
Vice Chair Garrett Gatewood, also Rancho Cordova’s vice mayor, then put forward a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved, and the meeting ended without the public discussion of the budget. The public, watching the commissioners leave the chambers, looked confused.
Sacramento County spokesperson Kim Nava said, as of Friday afternoon, Ayala has not responded to her when she reached out about a reporter’s inquiries. Ayala declined to discuss what happened during the closed door meeting on Thursday when approached by a reporter.
The 11 commissioners at the meeting did not immediately respond to a request for comment or referred questions to Ayala.
“It is concerning, if not suspicious, that they then immediately adjourn without actually voting on the budget,” Loy said.
The questions around Thursday’s meeting come as nonprofits have reported little communication with county staff about their budget.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 3:26 PM.
