Where are the Public Meeting Minutes?

Since this article was posted errors were reported.  They have been redacted with lining out and changing the font color to gray.  I apologize for the errors.  John R. Clickener  07102012

Have you visited the new Essex County Schools web site (http://www.essex.k12.va.us/) yet?  It is much better organized, more attractive, and easier to navigate than the previous version.  Of course, it's a work in progress because there are additional features that will benefit students, staff, parents, and the community.

There does seem to be one major problem that the new web site has in common with the badly out dated county government (BOS) web site. While writing this article today, Saturday 30 June, I looked for the minutes of the School Board and the BOS meetings. The minutes of regular and special meetings of the SB are NOT POSTED on time.  However, the SB now has on line archives of the past two years of minutes and agendas. Apparently the Clerk for the BOS doesn't place the minutes on the County Government web site. --- And the BOS does not provide on line public access to an archive of minutes and agendas.

The most current SB minutes are for a regular meeting dated 14 May. The SB also held a regular meeting on 11 June.  The draft/unapproved minutes for that meeting were required to have been posted not later than the evening of 18 June. They were not there.  The SB also held a special meeting on 26 June.  Those minutes are required to be posted by the evening of 3 July.

Since the County Government has a web site, one would presume that the minutes would be posted there.  Since they do not post minutes on the web site, the BOS should require the BOS Clerk to inform the public when and how the minutes are made available in compliance with the Code of Virginia. 

The last regular meeting by the BOS was on 5 June.  The draft/unapproved minutes for that meeting were required to have been made public not later than the evening of 12 June.  The BOS met in special session at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 27 June; therefore, those draft/unapproved minutes are required to be made public by the evening of 6 June. 

The Airport Authority, which is also required to make their minutes public, does post their minutes on the Essex County Government web site.  The most recent minutes are for the Authority's 10 May meeting.  They most recently met on 14 June; however, those draft/unapproved minutes were required to have been posted not later than 21 June.

The Code of Virginia Open Meetings Act mandates the broadest interpretation of open government and transparency.  The Act specifically requires ALL public bodies (which includes the BOS, the SB, and most other local government entities such as the Airport Authority and the Planning Commission) "…to take minutes at open meetings and prescribes specific items of information which must be included." (Code of Virginia 2.2-3707)  "Further, minutes must be made available within 5 working days of the original meeting and the final minutes within three working days of their approval."  (Code of Virginia 2.2-3707.1)

Charges may be brought and penalties may be assessed for violations of the ACT.

Additional transparency and open government requirements concerning the conduct of  public meetings, which the BOS and SB should consider, will be posted here on ESO.  They include: Public Notice requirements prior to convening meetings, the very limited and specific reasons that permit public bodies to convene in closed session, adoption and publication of a local supplement to Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised which specifies the local rules for public comment during open meetings, etc.

Article by JRC  John R. Clickener