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I’m at a meeting of the town of Oneonta Legislative Committee, which I don’t think was properly noticed, but I’m concerned that all 4 town board members are here and participating in the meeting.
The Legislative Committee is made up of the Town Supervisor and two Town Board members. Right now, all four Board Members are here, participating in the meeting.
I don’t think this meeting was properly noticed to begin with, but it certainly was not noticed as a Town Board meeting.
Doesn’t it state in NY Open Meeting Law that any gatherings of a majority of a Town Board/Council must be noticed as a meeting?
You raise an interesting question, which was addressed in an opinion by the Committee on Open Government. As the Committee consists of the Supervisor and two board members, the Committee is subject to the Open Meetings Law as far as notifying the public etc.
The opinion is linked below:
“… members of the Legislature who are not members of the Committee may attend the Committee meeting, but if the intent is for the meeting to be a “Committee” meeting and not a meeting of the “Legislature,” the non-Committee members should not be involved in the discussion of Committee business. Non-Committee legislators should only be permitted to comment in the same way that members of the general public are permitted to comment.”
https://docsopengovernment.dos.ny.gov/coog/otext/O5645.pdf