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File No. A-12-126 <br />Page No. 2 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Councilmember Sarmiento is a trustee and beneficiary of a revocable trust. The trust will <br />remain revocable as long as CounciThe trust owns a <br />business in the CMD and pays assessments as required. He receives no income from the trust <br />whether as a beneficiary or for performing occasional legal work. <br /> <br />Annually, the business pays $3,918 in assessments due to its location in the CMD. The <br />amount each business pays depends on a variety of factors. Each year, the CMD generates <br />approximately $720,000, which is collected into a non-profit, Downtown Inc. Downtown Inc. <br />provides services to the real properties within the CMD, including cleaning, security, advertising, <br />and special events. <br /> <br /> Councilmember Sarmiento is also a sole practitioner with a law practice in Santa Ana. <br />His practice is not located within the CMD. <br /> <br /> The city council has seven members, including a directly elected mayor. The mayor and <br />one other councilmember have recused themselves from participating in CMD decisions based <br />2 <br />on conflicts of interest. One councilmember is facing criminal charges related to a personal <br />employment matter and has not been attending city council meetings regularly. Under city code, <br />the council needs a quorum of four members to vote on a matter. <br /> <br />ANALYSIS <br /> <br /> -of-interest rules prohibit a public official from making, participating in <br />making, or using his or her official position in any way to influence a governmental decision in <br />which the official knows, or has reason to know, that he or she h <br />governmental decision if it is reasonably foreseeable that the decision will have a material <br />financial effect, distinguishable from its effect on the public generally, on the official, a member <br /> <br /> <br /> Under the Act, a conflict of interest exists only when a public official has a financial <br />interest in a particular governmental decision. To determine whether a public official has a <br />-step <br />analysis outlined in Regulation 18700(b). <br /> <br />As a city council member that would be called upon to vote on issues regarding the <br />CMD, Councilmember Sarmiento is a public official who would be making a governmental <br />decision. Thus, he would meet steps one and two. The remaining steps will be analyzed below. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />2 <br /> See Winterswyk Advice Letter, A-12-116. <br /> <br />