Open Meeting Law
Told You So
March 8 2022
We see em do it at
the blink of an eye. They go behind closed doors and do the
dirty work away from the preying eyes of the taxpayer.
They think, what's said in secret time is top secret never to
be breathed to the people paying their salaries.
We've said, published, over and over for the last 27
years: There is NOTHING in State Code that says our leaders
shouldn't talk about those dealings. There's nothing to say,
they can't come out and spill their guts on every word spoke
away from the public.
Now, as of this date, it ain't just us telling the
truth.
County Commissioners were made aware of the latest W Va
Ethics Commission decision yesterday. Here's the official
reporting on that decision from the Associated Press (AP).
Maybe you will believe those folks!
A West Virginia Ethics Commission committee
determined that local governments have the discretion to
decide if information discussed during executive sessions is
publicly disclosed.
"The committee adopted an advisory opinion
Thursday saying the state Open Governmental Meetings Act
doesn’t address whether executive sessions are confidential or
if there are legal consequences for public officials
discussing the information shared during them outside the
closed meetings, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.
The three-member committee that focuses on open
governmental meetings issued the opinion in response to a
question from the Harrison County Commission. County
Commissioner David Hinkle said in January that what the
commissioners discussed during an executive session wasn’t the
item listed on the agenda, according to The Exponent Telegram.
State law allows governing bodies to meet
privately during publicly announced meetings to talk about
certain employment and personnel matters or legal topics. They
can also discuss leasing, building, selling or buying
property.
The ethics committee determined the executive
sessions can be held in private, but local governments can
decide whether officials are allowed to record the meetings or
share the information that’s discussed. It also says governing
bodies can adopt rules clearly determining the information is
confidential or otherwise disclosed.
“It doesn’t mean that we’re necessarily saying
that information in an executive session has to be disclosed
or should be disclosed,” committee chair Lynn Davis told the
Gazette-Mail. “We’re not making any kind of judgment on that.
It’s just that the Open Meetings Act does not prohibit it.”
AW