Citing California’s Public Records Act, the Napa Valley Register is asking the American Canyon Fire District to release a report on bonuses that American Canyon firefighters received after presenting degrees from an unaccredited university.

On Tuesday, the American Canyon City Council, which also acts as the American Canyon Fire District board, voted 3-2 in closed session not to waive attorney-client privilege regarding the report. The decision prevents the release to the public of the fire district’s most recent investigation into the bonus payments, an investigation done at the fire district’s request by a consulting law firm.

American Canyon City Attorney Bill Ross on Thursday said his instructions from the board are to maintain the attorney-client privilege. He also declined to disclose how individual board members voted on the decision to withhold the report from the public.

Roger Myers, the San Francisco attorney seeking the report on behalf of the Register, said state law requires disclosure of a wide variety of government documents. While there are exceptions to what must be disclosed, he said, “the facts as we know them do not appear to support any of those exceptions” in this case.

The city earlier this summer disclosed that seven firefighters may have received a total of about $36,500 in educational incentives after presenting degrees from Almeda University, an unaccredited online school.

Former American Canyon Fire Chief Keith Caldwell, now running for the Napa County Board of Supervisors, authorized the payments.

Caldwell has said neither he nor others who approved the bonuses or contract incentives were aware at the time of any impropriety or controversy regarding Almeda University.

The fire district’s first report on the controversy, issued earlier this summer, stated Caldwell did not benefit financially from the bonus program.

Caldwell was the top vote-getter in the District 5 supervisor’s race in June and in November is in a run-off with former Napa County Sheriff Gary Simpson.