There seems to be some skepticism among some of the commenters about being notified about meetings of different sorts put on by our village government. According to the Sunshine Laws it's not a courtesy thing. It's a requirement. Here are some parts copied from the Sunshine Laws that pertains to this issue:
"NOTICE. While the meeting must be conducted in an open venue, the public body must first
issue appropriate notice of the meeting. The requirements for proper notice will vary depending
upon the type of meeting a public body is conducting.
Special Meetings. A "special meeting" is any meeting other than a regular meeting.
Moreover, the term "special" implies that the meeting is being held for a specific purpose or
purposes. For special meetings, a public body must establish by rule a reasonable method
that allows the public to determine the time, place, and purpose of a special meeting?
The rule for notification of special meetings must require at least 24 hours advance notification to all media outlets that have requested such notification, and to people who have specifically requested such notice.
Emergency Meetings. An emergency meeting is a special meeting that is convened because
a situation requires immediate official action. For this type of meeting, the public body
must immediately notify all media outlets that have requested such notification, as well as
people who have specifically requested such notice, of the time, place and purpose of the emergency meeting. The purpose statement must comport with the specificity requirements discussed above.
Who Receives Notice. The open meetings law requires every public body to establish rules
for notification. The rules must provide that two groups of people will receive notification of
meetings: (1) the news media that have requested notification; and (2) any person who has
requested reasonable advance notification of all meetings."
These paragraphs are copied and pasted right out of a copy of the Sunshine Law that can be found on the Ohio Attorney General's web site. You can find them in Chapter 2. It's there in black & white and that is why a request for notification was made at the last regular council meeting. Anybody has the right to make such a request. It's the law and once that request is made if an individual is not notified then the public body is breaking the law. It is something that our village officials should be aware of and adhere to once the request is made.
It goes on to say that it is up to the media whether they print the notification. Seems lately that our two local papers have decided not to extend that courtesy. They use to but there were three committee meetings held in mid-December and an emergency council meeting two days before Christmas that wasn't advertised in either paper. I got a couple of ideas why they didn't but I can't speak for those print professionals.
I was told by one source that notification for the council meeting held December 23 was put out nearly 48 hours prior to the meeting. I did get a courtesy comment on here the morning of the 23rd but did not get any other notification. Maybe it was an oversight by the councilman that called that meeting. The name & number is in the book. They could have left a message or a voice mail if they can't reach me directly. It's a simple thing to do. It's the law. That's all I ask.
ole nib
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4 comments:
We have the same problem in our Township.
We are not notified of Special or Emergency Special Meetings.
On top of that our Trustees have been in executive session from one meeting to another (2 weeks)times.
Now we are going to court with the trustees on just that, proceedures.
Good Luck Kingsville TWP. I think part of the problem is that some officials don't want to take the time to familiarize themselves with the law's provisions or are just too arrogant and think they are above the law.
We use to have a reporter that covered our village that use to get right in their face when public officials would try to blow it off. She wouldn't take no for an answer.
I would like to follow your case. What newspaper covers your area? If you get the time you can e-mail me at olenib@gmail.com. Thanks.
nib
All Wellsville Council meetings special or not, are always in the newspaper. It sounds like it is real bad in your town.
Lately they have been in the papers after the fact. The only thing we see in the newspapers are reports on meetings that have already taken place. We use to get advanced notice of meetings that are coming up. The only thing I've seen recently is the new year's schedule of BOE meetings and that was in only one of our two local papers.
nib
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