Attorneys to discuss government transparency in Rancho Mirage

The city attorney for Rancho Mirage and Desert HotSprings and a Riverside County deputy district attorney will give apresentation on the state’s open meetings law tomorrow.

Attorney Steve Quintanilla and county Chief Deputy District AttorneyVicki Hightower will discuss “Transparency and Open Government” during a 1p.m. public meeting Tuesday in the Rancho Mirage’s council chamber at 69825Highway 111.

The Ralph M. Brown Act, passed in 1953, mandates that most governmentmeetings are open “to allow the public a reasonable and meaningful opportunityto be involved with the decision-making process of its elected and appointedofficials who are entrusted to protect and promote the public’s interest andtaxpayers dollars,” Quintanilla said.

Quintanilla, also a deputy city attorney in Cathedral City and generalcounsel for several local organizations, earned his law degree and a master’sin urban planning from UCLA.

Hightower has been a prosecutor for 18 years and oversees operations forthree of the District Attorney’s special prosecution sections, which includefraud, environmental and consumer protection, professional standards, tribalgaming and grand theft auto. Her law degree is from UCLA.