Open Meeting Law Violation In Georgetown
According to an article in the Boston Globe's North section this week, a subcommittee of the Georgetown School Committee violated the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. As David Bjork, School Committee Clerk, states in the article, "Apparently, we did inadvertently violate the Open Meeting Law. ...As far back as anyone can remember, it has not been the practice of any of our subcommittees to post meetings and publish minutes. We did not realize it was required. We are changing the practice immediately." (I guess the Georgetown School Committee had been violating the Open Meeting Law for some time!!)
This incident illustrates what probably happens a lot when there is a violation of either the Open Meeting Law or the Public Records Law; the public officials just do not understand what the laws require. I think this happens probably because most public officials receive very little training in the two laws and/or because there is little incentive for local officials to obtain more training since the consequences are relatively minor if the laws are violated. (Of course, there are probably some local officials who think they simply do not have to follow the laws, but my guess is those officials are few in number.)
The other thing this incident illustrates is how one person can make a big difference. According to the Globe North article, the acknowledgement by the school committee's clerk, that the committee was violating the Open Meetings Law, occurred after Lynn R. Messman, a Georgetown resident, filed a complaint with the office of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett. We need more citizens like Ms. Messman.
(I wonder, however, whether Ms. Messman brought the violation to the attention of the Georgetown School Committee's clerk before she filed the complaint. If she did, and the School Committee ignored her, then that would be very troubling. A person should not have to file a complaint to get a local official or governing body to comply with either the Open Meeting Law or the Public Records Law.)
This incident illustrates what probably happens a lot when there is a violation of either the Open Meeting Law or the Public Records Law; the public officials just do not understand what the laws require. I think this happens probably because most public officials receive very little training in the two laws and/or because there is little incentive for local officials to obtain more training since the consequences are relatively minor if the laws are violated. (Of course, there are probably some local officials who think they simply do not have to follow the laws, but my guess is those officials are few in number.)
The other thing this incident illustrates is how one person can make a big difference. According to the Globe North article, the acknowledgement by the school committee's clerk, that the committee was violating the Open Meetings Law, occurred after Lynn R. Messman, a Georgetown resident, filed a complaint with the office of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett. We need more citizens like Ms. Messman.
(I wonder, however, whether Ms. Messman brought the violation to the attention of the Georgetown School Committee's clerk before she filed the complaint. If she did, and the School Committee ignored her, then that would be very troubling. A person should not have to file a complaint to get a local official or governing body to comply with either the Open Meeting Law or the Public Records Law.)
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