It’s no secret that the Santa Ana City Council has had difficulty complying with the state’s open-meeting law. Council members have met secretly before allowing public comments, shut off the microphone on public speakers, voted on issues before allowing public comments and engaged in private side chats at public meetings — all possible violations of the law known as the Ralph M. Brown Act.
The council members have had a particularly difficult time when it comes to following proper procedure for closed sessions. But this week they got it right.
Before going into a closed session Monday, Mayor Miguel Pulido convened the council in open session and called for public comments. By convening publicly first, council members complied with a provision in the law that says the public must be given an opportunity to address the council before items on the agenda are discussed.