Vice Mayor asks for verbatim minutes after council debate over censure record

A procedural dispute over meeting minutes dominated part of the Daly City Council meeting on May 26 as the vice mayor asked that the record of a prior admonishment and subsequent censure be augmented with a verbatim transcript before council approves the May 11 minutes.

The issue arose during roll call on a motion to approve previous minutes when Vice Mayor Piranho said the minutes omitted two statements made by Council Member Diovani that she wanted reflected verbatim. "I wanted to make sure that everybody has a chance to defend themselves," the vice mayor said, asking that the city clerk provide a verbatim transcription of the previous discussion and the city attorney's remarks on that agenda item.

City Clerk and city attorney responses: The city clerk explained the standard minutes practice is summary, not verbatim transcription, but agreed that because this item involves an admonishment and a later noticed censure hearing, the council could request a verbatim transcript for that single item to be appended to the minutes for clarity. The city attorney confirmed the council can request more complete minutes and that producing verbatim minutes for the disputed portions is an acceptable remedy.

Why it matters: Council Member Diovani said she was unable to participate in the earlier hearing for medical reasons and raised concerns that she was not afforded an opportunity to respond; other members described the prior investigations as independent processes. The vice mayor said the requested verbatim supplement is necessary so the public record accurately reflects what was said and the council’s due‑process steps.

Next steps: The council agreed to continue the approval of the May 11 minutes and asked staff to prepare a verbatim transcript of the specified portions for review at the next meeting. No disciplinary or policy action was taken at Tuesday’s meeting.