Not sure if you’ve seen it, but the Niagara Falls City Council recently adopted new public speaking rules. I know there’s no legal requirement for councils to allow public comment—that’s not my concern here.
What I’m asking about is their practice of calling a “recess,” as mentioned in the article below. The council has done this a few times recently. It’s not an executive session—they specifically call it a recess. During that time, they leave the room with the city attorney and later return to resume the meeting.
What are the rules, if any, around this? Is it allowed? Under what circumstances?
Here’s a potentially relevant section of the Niagara Falls City Charter:
C. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, and public notice of such meeting and the agenda shall be posted as provided by law. The Council at a regular or committee-of-the-whole meeting may recess in a closed or executive session as provided by law. Convening of an executive session shall be by majority vote of the Council and the yeas and nays shall be recorded in the Journal.
From my reading, it sounds like they “may recess,” but only under conditions allowed by law—presumably the state’s executive session rules. Am I interpreting that correctly?
This is an interesting question.
One of the exemptions to New York’s Open Meetings Law is for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. A city council is allowed to meet privately with its attorney to receive legal counsel, and this does not require a formal motion to enter executive session—even though many municipalities follow that procedure.
In short, a recess to meet with the city attorney is not a violation of the Open Meetings Law, as long as it’s for the purpose of obtaining legal advice.
