The Indiana Publisher

Page 5 January 2022 Sue Loughlin Tribune-Star (Terre Haute) In an informal opinion, Indiana's public access counselor says it appears the elementary con- solidation committee that recom- mended the closure/repurposing of Meadows Elementary was subject to the Indiana Open Door Law. If so, and the district failed to provide notice of those meetings, the district violated the Indiana Open Door meetings law. The Vigo County School Corp. maintains it did not violate the Open Door Law. Meadows parent Kyle Kershaw requested an opinion from the pub- lic access counselor. In the informal opinion, Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt writes, "The task force appears to be a direct offshoot of the School Board. If so, there can be no ques- tion that the task force is a govern- ing body subject to the Open Door Law. Therefore, to the extent the task force meets behind closed doors without the requisite notice being posted, it will be violating the Open Door Law." Britt also states, "As an aside, these types of governing-by-proxy arrangements have always been a great curiosity to this office. Not that they exist — delegation of responsibility is not inherently a bad thing — but rather the legal liberties agencies take to keep them secret. This is especially true for com- mittees who discuss controversial subject matters. The secrecy does nothing but invite more suspicion and scrutiny." The point of open meetings is to Staff Reports Shelbyville News The Indiana Public Access Counselor found Shelby County Commissioners in violation of the Indiana Open Door Law after a formal complaint was filed. The complaint was made after the Commissioners voted in September to mandate masks in county buildings and all Shelby County schools. Public Access Counselor Luke Britt wrote in his decision that the Commissioners violated the Open Door Law based on the fact that all three members attended a conference call with local stake- holders, including other public officials. The Sept. 5, 2021 meeting was coordinated by MHP Medical Center to discuss the response to the local COVID-19 outbreak. Following that meeting, the Commissioners voted 2-1 to adopt a resolution mandating masks dur- ing their Sept. 13 weekly meeting. The mandate began at the follow- ing morning. The following day, a com- plaint was filed by Natalie Coffey claiming the board vio- lated the Open Door Law. Coffey contended that it violated the law by holding an improper execu- tive session before it adopted the resolution, according to the ruling released by the Public Access Counselor. In the com- plaint, Coffey said the board participated in improper ex parte communication with the mayor's office, the Shelby County Health Department and other officials. She based her complaint, at least in part, on comments made by other officials to local news- papers about the mask mandate, according to the ruling. And she argued that comments made by Mayor Tom DeBaun and the Shelby County Health Department indicated the mandate had been secretly planned for awhile. On. Oct. 12, the Commissioners filed a response, denying those allegations. They acknowledged that all three par- ticipated in the conference call, which was meant to provide an update on the COVID-19 out- break in the county and how it was affecting the community, in particular the hospital. During that meeting, MHP and county health department repre- sentatives discussed their recom- mendations to stakeholders. However, the Commissioners said they took no action during Indiana Public Access Counselor: Shelby County Commissioners violated Indiana Open Door Law "During these emergent, trying times, it is all the more imperative that the public is privy to the conversations that lead up to decisions affecting them directly." — Luke Britt, Indiana public access counselor See Task Force, page 9 PAC questions schools closed-door meetings, lawyers say task force followed law See Open Door, page, 9 Connect with us. . Follow HSPA on Twitter & Facebook. . Visit us at hspa.com. . Send updates about your staff to news@hspa.com. @OurRight2Know Facebook.com/HoosierStatePressAssociation

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