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Attorney General: Selectmen Broke Open Meeting Law [with video]

In a decision dated July 7, the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ruled the Groton Board of Selectmen's private, serial discussions of a proposal to waive construction fees of about $4,500 for reconstruction of Blood Farms, were illegal. The Attorney General wrote clearly and unequivocally that these private discussions were not permissible and were a violation of the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.

The Attorney General disagreed with Selectmen's contention that their conversations did not constitute an illegal deliberation because: "1) they were "in the nature of distributing information or documents for subsequent discussion at a subsequent meeting; and 2) the waiver of administrative fees is not a matter of public business within the Board's jurisdiction."

The Attorney General's ruling explained, "Gauging members' interest in a proposal prior to its introduction at a meeting constitutes active solicitation of an opinion of a Board member. We have previously stated that this behavior, when reaching a quorum, is in violation of the Open Meeting Law."

The Attorney General's ruling acknowledged, however, that "two of the Board's members did raise concerns at the time the calls occurred." [Ed note: Selectmen Degen and Petropolous expressed reservations and said such discussions could be a violation.]

Further mitigating the severity of the violation, the Attorney General also noted, "We also find that the Chair took appropriate action by disclosing the improper communications in an open meeting in an effort to respond to the complaint."

Settling the violation without any further legal action, the Attorney General wrote, "We order no further action," and, "We now consider this matter closed."

Despite closing the matter without further legal action, there was an implicit warning to Selectmen that they should be careful to avoid future violations and that if there are fresh complaints or violations, harsher sanctions could be meted out. The Attorney General admonished Selectmen as follows: "[we] caution the Board that future similar violations could be considered evidence of intent to violate the Law."

Groton Herald

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