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On May 2, the Town of Taylor received a letter from the Office of the Arizona Attorney General regarding a complaint submitted by Alice Franco, a landowner in Taylor, alleging that the Town Council had violated Arizona’s Open Meeting Law (OML).
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Of the four issues brought before the Attorney General, three were noted to be in violation and the Town was given the remedy of having all council members and pertinent employees attend an OML training within 60 days of receiving the letter.
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These violations included failure to properly notice the executive session for the purchase of the business park on Oct. 4, 2018. It was noted that the minutes for that executive session did not contain sufficient summary or identify who was present. In general, meeting minutes were not available to the public within three working days. In addition, public speakers were treated differently during call to the public at the Jan. 3 workshop.
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In response to the violations, Town Attorney William Sims wrote the Attorney General on May 16, stating, “The town does not agree with some of the conclusions reached in your letter. I asked what procedure would be followed to contest those conclusions. It was suggested that litigation would be the next step. Given that your office believes OML violations occurred and given that the town firmly believes that violations did not occur, we discussed a common understanding between parties: the parties would respectfully acknowledge the other party’s view but not pursue litigation to resolve our differences.”
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As a result, the town opted to do the OML training at no cost.
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On June 6, Mayor David Smith and Vice Mayor Carl Cosper, along with councilmen Jason Brubaker, Shawn Palmer, Bill Baldwin and Kyle Peck attended an OML by Christina Estes-Werther, general counsel with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.
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Absent from the training was Councilman Fay Hatch. Also, in attendance were Town Manager Gus Lundberg and Town Clerk Geri Judd along with Snowflake Town Manager Brian Richard, Snowflake Town Clerk Katie Melser and Taylor-Snowflake Fire Chief William Nelson.
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Werther began the presentation by explaining the violations and giving a brief history of the OML which was first enacted in 1962. Over the years, the OML “has expanded the scope of OML; always to make it more public and transparent.”
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In response to the executive session violation, Werther noted that executive sessions tend to trip up a lot of communities. Everything recorded in an executive session is strictly confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
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However, within that it is critical that the agenda item clearly state what the executive session is about so the public is informed and that the minutes of the executive session note who attended and what was said.
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Werther continued, “Calls to the public are not required unless it is on the agenda. But once you make that call, you as the council, have to treat everyone the same. If you are doing a time limit, then that is the same for everyone.”
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Werther further encouraged that the council lay out the ground rules before the call to the public, which should include people identifying themselves, the time limit and the reminder that the council cannot comment or make a decision on the matter presented in the call.
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According to the OML, agenda items are not for open discussion between the council and the public. The public has an opportunity to address agenda items and other matters that pertain to the council at the call to the public.
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Werther also noted that either a draft of the meeting minutes or recording according to OML should be posted on the town website within three business days of the meeting.
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Currently, the town has been posting the approval of agenda items, but Werther said that there needed to be an inclusion of the council members and how they voted on the items. The minutes can also be posted as a draft within the three-day time period.
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Town Manager Gus Lundberg noted after the meeting, “We are grateful to the League of Arizona Cities and Towns for their support and quick response to our request for assistance. It is always good to have refresher on the Attorney General’s latest interpretation of the law.”
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When asked for comment about the Attorney General ruling and the response of Sims, Franco stated the following in an email, “Open meeting law training is required for town leaders. It isn’t a choice or a matter to be argued in court. Taylor leaders violated the law, not because I filed a complaint, but because they chose to ignore the law. Whether or not they agree with the Attorney General or the open meeting laws is not relevant. There are also laws that govern how public funds are handled and spent; violations bring very serious consequences. Taylor leaders should welcome the opportunity to do the town’s business in public for everyone to see and hear, rather than complain about citizen questions. It is the public’s money, not for enrichment of any individual or group.”
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