EDMONDS — A majority of the Edmonds City Council went to a downtown bar after last week’s meeting to celebrate the appointment of a new councilwoman, raising questions over the gathering’s appearance.
Edmonds resident Don Hall said he was surprised when he saw four members come into Engels Pub with eight to 10 others after the Jan. 19 meeting. The members were Council President Steve Bernheim, Michael Plunkett, Adriene Fraley-Monillas and new appointee Diane Buckshnis.
Hall said he raised a question over whether that represented an illegal meeting to Bernheim and Fraley-Monillas that night.
State law allows council members to meet at social events as long as city business is not discussed.
Even so, Hall questions the propriety of so many council members gathering following a meeting.
“I could not say if (they) were or weren’t talking city business,” Hall said. “I believe the citizens of Edmonds deserve and expect better from these elected council members. There are no excuses.”
Bernheim said he hasn’t seen any formal complaint and council members are allowed to meet for social occasions or events.
“We adjourned the council meeting and went to the bar where I gave Diane my congratulations and shook hands with Michael and Adriene,” Council President Steve Bernheim said. “I spent most of the time at the bar talking to Don Hall.”
Since then, City Attorney Scott Snyder has written a memo to council members: “Post council meeting get-togethers of council members have been a steady source of Open Meetings complaints. The fact that a quorum of the council is present at a church service, funeral, birthday party, etc. is not a violation. It is the conduct of public business that triggers a violation.”
“Don’t fall into a habit of meeting regularly after council meetings,” he wrote. “The natural tendency will be to talk about what you just experienced, and the public is very aware of who you are and where you just were.”
The appearance of these gatherings should lead to caution for council members, Snyder said in an interview.
“Such after-meeting social events were once common, but have been abandoned by most councils and council members due to the appearance that is created,” Snyder said. “Even if no public business is discussed and the event is purely social, a social event can create the appearance of impropriety. The appearance is often the issue, as it appears to be in this case, rather than an actual violation of the (law).”
Last year, a group of Mukilteo officials went to an eatery after a meeting and Councilwoman Jennifer Gregerson tweeted that they were “debriefing and relaxing.” The word ‘debriefing’ raised concerns that council members were discussing public business, something Gregerson later denied.
A council member who knowingly attends an illegal meeting may be subject to a civil penalty of $100.
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