Open Meetings

I’m told members of the Niagara Falls City Council have been asked to come to city hall Thursday evening for a meeting with the city’s outside attorney to discuss forming a local development corporation to oversee the $210 million Centennial Park arena project.

The city’s stance is that this is legal because it is a confidential meeting with the city’s attorney. Is that right? Shouldn’t they open a council meeting and go into executive session first to talk to a lawyer confidentially?

This is not an officially scheduled meeting. There is no notice given to the public or the press. The chair has texted council members to ask them to attend. Is that OK?

What recourse do I have when the town board fails to follow the open meeting rules even after being advised by the town attorney?

We are looking at some things we think are issues in the City of Cohoes, where transparency seems to be a major concern. Questions: whether public comments made at a workshop meeting become part of the record; whether a city employee can be barred from speaking during public comment; whether any laws beyond the meeting laws require keeping citizens informed; and what can be done about meetings held in a location that is not handicap accessible, with no recordings and minutes that appear a month or more later.

The village noticed a few days ahead of time that the Planning Board was planning a site visit at a development site that has been controversial. That was all they said. But there was a full quorum, and a balloon test was conducted (not successfully), which is used to see how a proposed building will affect sight lines for people in the community.

The balloon test was obviously planned in advance, and some members of the public did show up. Should this not have been noticed as an agenda item? The public was not told that the test would be conducted. I believe that many more would have shown up if they had known.

I have an open government question from a story that has been playing out in Seneca Falls. I’m not a reporter these days, but I’m trying to help the community get to the bottom of an issue regarding a recent vote.

The gist: the Seneca Falls Town Board is saying two votes are valid, despite there being no record of a motion or second before either vote, which is on video. Some residents are asking for a re-vote next month, but the Supervisor says the votes stand because Robert’s Rules aren’t legally binding. However, the town board adopts Robert’s Rules annually at its organizational meeting. So, in order for a vote to be legally binding, wouldn’t a motion and second be necessary?

Another wrinkle is that the elected town clerk wasn’t at the meeting, so she has no way to verify who made the motion or second. What kind of legal exposure would a clerk have if a supervisor instructed her to add someone as the motion maker even though there’s no record of it on video?

Three questions: (1) What materials must a village board release to the public connected to a routine meeting? Do they only have to release an agenda? What about a presentation shown at the meeting that centers on a project for which a grant or bond or public expenditure will be needed? (2) If a village board modifies a bill, must it call a new public hearing? What amendments are allowed before new notice is required? (3) If a board holds and closes a public hearing, how long does it have before it must take action on a bill?

I’m a local news editor. Would you be able to cite the statute, Committee on Open Government advisory opinion, or case law in support of these two statements on your Open Meetings Law page? First, that if at least two members of a committee are elected officials then the committee must follow the Open Meetings Law, while a committee that only advises the full board is an advisory committee and is not required to follow it. Second, that although an advisory committee is not required to follow the Open Meetings Law, it can voluntarily comply, or a local government can adopt rules requiring all committees to comply.

What are the requirements for transparency regarding local task forces? Are they mandated to be disclosed and/or listed — as an example, on a town website — for the public in the manner that other boards and committees are?

I’m a reporter in Saratoga County. I recently tried to attend a meeting of a Civilian Review Board in Saratoga Springs, but when I went to the time and place listed on the agenda, no one was there. I waited for 30 minutes and no one showed up. I checked social media, the website, and my email for any notice that the meeting was cancelled, but didn’t see anything. I later saw the CRB post the next meeting’s agenda, which was a duplicate of the meeting that seemed to have been cancelled without notice.

My question is this: is there any requirement under the Open Meetings Law to give notice when a previously noticed meeting is cancelled?