Dublin Council Adopts Ethics Code, Rejects Push to Limit Staff Policy Recommendations

Dublin's City Council moved unanimously through a full agenda Tuesday night, establishing the city's first formal Code of Ethics for elected and appointed officials, tightening investment diversification rules, and merging two advisory commissions into one. The ethics debate drew the sharpest lines of the evening — a resident's detailed push to restrict how city staff presents policy options was rejected by all five council members.

• Code of Ethics adopted as written after council debates and rejects resident-proposed amendments that would have curbed staff recommendations
• Investment policy tightened: maximum single-issuer exposure cut from 20% to 10% in annual policy update
• Two commissions become one: Human Services Commission folded into Parks and Community Services Commission, effective 2027
• City Manager gets a raise: 6% salary increase and $10,000 annual performance pay approved on consent
• Campaign finance allegations surface: local business owner warns of developer money flowing to council members ahead of November election

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Ethics Code Passes, but the Debate Reveals Fault Lines

The longest discussion of the night centered on a document meant to formalize how Dublin's elected and appointed officials hold themselves — and each other — accountable.

The basics: The Code of Ethics and Conduct, reviewed twice previously by the council, sets standards around conflicts of interest, gift disclosures, and professional conduct for all officials serving the city. Councilmember John Morada pulled the item from the consent calendar after receiving detailed written amendments from resident Tom Evans, who also spoke during public comment.

Where things stand: Evans had submitted a package of proposed changes: extending the gift and campaign contribution recusal period to two years (five years for land use decisions), prohibiting the city council from endorsing candidates as a body, and — most controversially — adding a new section titled "Behavioral Role of the City Manager, City Attorney and City Staff." That section would have barred staff from pre-endorsing policy positions or including draft resolutions and ordinances in agenda packets until after council deliberation.

"I've asked a couple questions about this. And the California state rule basically says you have to have a 12-month blackout period between any gifts and any vote. But I think it should be better than that," said Tom Evans, a public commenter, who used a hypothetical $100,000 college scholarship scenario to illustrate how gift rules might fall short over time.

The City Attorney clarified that existing state law already prohibits gifts over $630 from any single source, and that the 12-month look-back Evans referenced applies to campaign contributions, not gifts. "State law prohibits council members from accepting gifts more than $630 from any particular source. So on that scenario, state law would prohibit it," the City Attorney said.

The other side: All five council members rejected the "Behavioral Role" section. Vice Mayor Jean Josey was the most direct, arguing the code governs officials, not staff — and that restricting professional recommendations would undermine how the council operates.

"This is the code of ethics for officials, appointed and elected officials. The intent of the item was for us to be able to hold each other accountable for our actions," said Vice Mayor Josey. "It also has a little bit of bleed over with how we want the city to run, but that was not the intent to dictate how staff presents to us."

Councilmember Kashef Qaadri agreed with the spirit of Evans' work but found the staff-restriction provision contradictory to the council's own expectations. "I like the intent of it, but I'm not sure I agree with it fully in that we've been asking staff to present options when we have something come before us and give their opinion. I see this as somewhat counterintuitive to that," Councilmember Qaadri said.

Councilmember Michael McCorriston acknowledged the amendments were thoughtful but found most changes either redundant or already covered by existing law. "I also found it rather limiting to us. I wouldn't be in favor of this," Councilmember McCorriston said.

Vice Mayor Josey also flagged a transparency concern: Evans' written amendments had been handed to council members at the dais, meaning the public couldn't see the document being discussed. "I'm just thinking for best practices going forward so that we don't keep referencing something that the audience members don't have a copy of," she said.

Decisions: The council adopted the Code of Ethics as originally written, 5-0 (For: Morada, Qaadri, McCorriston, Josey, Hu; Against: none; Absent: none), without incorporating any of the resident-proposed amendments.

What's next: The code is now in effect for all Dublin elected and appointed officials. Evans' proposals may resurface in future policy discussions, but no formal follow-up was scheduled.

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Two Commissions, One Future: Human Services Folds Into Parks Body

Why it matters: Dublin's Human Services Commission — established in 2013, meeting just three times a year — has been absorbed into the Parks and Community Services Commission, which meets monthly and covers overlapping territory in senior services, youth mental health, food programs, and crisis-line initiatives.

Where things stand: Parks and Community Services Manager Sean Chokatowski presented the consolidation plan, noting that both commissions had unanimously voted in favor at a joint meeting on Aug. 26. The transition calls for a temporary nine-member body (five current Parks commissioners, three new members from Human Services, and one student representative) starting in January 2027, shrinking to seven members with staggered four-year terms by 2029.

Councilmember Morada asked about preserving diverse viewpoints on the larger commission; Chokatowski cited enhanced recruitment and training efforts.

The more significant discussion came from Vice Mayor Josey, who used the agenda item to raise a broader governance question: Should the city continue using commission alternates? She noted a pilot program allowing alternates had been running for five years, with alternates never once ensuring quorum.

"I am sort of of the opinion that that didn't work the way we maybe envisioned that it would. And so I would propose to my colleagues that we go forward with the plan that is before us today without adding an alternate," Vice Mayor Josey said.

Councilmember Qaadri expressed support for the concept of alternates as a civic participation tool but agreed to defer. "I like the idea of alternates. I also want to be mindful of not creating a difficult situation to manage a larger set of commissioners and alternate commissioners," he said.

Decisions: Adopted unanimously, 5-0 (For: Morada, Qaadri, McCorriston, Josey, Hu; Against: none; Absent: none). The council also introduced an ordinance repealing Dublin Municipal Code Chapter 2.14, which established the Human Services Commission.

What's next: The alternates question will be revisited during an upcoming bylaws review covering all city commissions.

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Investment Policy Gets Tighter Diversification Rules

Finance Director Jay Baka presented the annual update to Dublin's investment policy, originally adopted in 2007, with three categories of changes: state law updates extending commercial paper maturity and zero-interest securities prohibition sunsets from 2026 to 2031; a best-practices reduction in maximum single-issuer exposure from 20% to 10%, per Chandler Asset Management's recommendation; and formal codification of the Finance and Investment Committee's role in reviewing quarterly investment reports.

Councilmember Morada pressed for public clarity on internal controls. Baka explained the city's segregation-of-duties framework: "Any action or transaction requires somebody to initiate it and then somebody to approve it," he said, describing a multi-layered check process across all finance operations.

Councilmember McCorriston, who has experience reviewing investment policies across agencies, praised the document. "I've seen quite a few of these agency investment policies and theirs is actually very good," he said.

Decisions: Adopted unanimously, 5-0.

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Business Owner Calls Out Developer Money Ahead of November Election

During public comment, Mike Grant, a longtime Dublin resident and owner of Guns Unlimited, alleged that campaign contributions from developers and outside groups are flowing to both a sitting council member and a candidate in Dublin's second district. Grant referenced 460 disclosure forms and linked the money to the recent transient occupancy tax debate, suggesting that a large event center project announcement shortly after the vote revealed the influence at work.

"All this money that's coming in, if it's coming from these entities, I don't care if this business is up, it needs to stop. We need to get back to grassroots," Grant said, praising Vice Mayor Josey for running grassroots campaigns and vowing to expose more details in local newspapers.

No council members responded to the allegations, per standard public comment protocol.

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Minor Items

• September 1 meeting minutes approved on the consent calendar, 5-0.
• $17.6 million August payment issuance report received and filed as part of consent.
• Conflict of Interest Code ordinance introduced to update Form 700 filing positions, with instruction to remove the Human Services Commissioner designation following the commission consolidation vote.
• City Manager Colleen Tribby's contract amended with a 6% salary increase effective June 1, 2026, and $10,000 in annual performance pay, approved on consent, 5-0.
• Hunger Action Month proclamation presented to Su Yun Lee, communications and outreach specialist from Tri Valley Haven, after the expected recipient from Open Heart Kitchen was unable to attend.
• Dublin High School student Ritvik Sharma attended the meeting as part of a Civics Action Project and thanked the council.
• Emerald Glen athletic fields closed through January for upgrades; Vice Mayor Josey noted the final Dublin Farmers Market night is Sept. 24 and Creek Cleanup Day is Sept. 19.
• Vice Mayor Josey delivered extended remarks on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, reflecting on discrimination faced by Americans after the attacks and urging that candidates be judged on issues, not heritage. "My hope for the city of Dublin is that we remember that we're all Dubliners, we're all American, whether we're from wherever our heritage is from," she said.