MILL CREEK — It was a chance for the public to get a quick course in government accountability.
They heard how not just documents, but sometimes even the personal email of elected officials or public employees can be considered official government business, and disclosed to the public.
And they learned that elected officials can’t skirt the state’s open public meetings laws through one-on-one meetings or group email discussions.
The forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County, was held at Heatherwood Middle School Thursday night and attended by about 30 people.
Panelists included Tim Ford, ombudsman for the Open Public Meetings Act in the state attorney general’s office and Ramsey Ramerman, an assistant city attorney in Everett who has led training sessions throughout the state on the state’s open meetings and public records disclosure laws.
They discussed when elected officials can legally meet behind closed doors, such as to protect a person’s privacy, and the variety of government documents and email discussions among public officials that can be disclosed to the public.
In addition to the public, the meeting was attended by all five members of the Everett School Board. Clashes over what can and can’t be discussed in private, or executive sessions, sparked heated debate, and stormy relationships, among board members last year.
Board member Jessica Olson was censured twice by fellow board members, following clashes over what she said was her fight for more openness and transparency.
And a debate over whether the criteria for evaluating Superintendent Gary Cohn’s performance should be discussed in executive session led to a well-publicized grabbing-and-shoving match between Olson and two other board members.
Following that confrontation, Reid Shockey, a private planner who works in Everett, suggested scheduling a meeting so that board members, and the public, would have a clearer idea of what topics elected officials can discuss in closed door meetings.
An audio recording of Thursday’s forum will be posted on the school district’s website.
The school board will discuss the forum, and how it might affect how they conduct business, during a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the school district’s administration building, 4730 Colby Ave.
Public officials cannot skirt the state’s open public meeting law by having “serial” meetings, a series of one-on-one discussions, or other communication, that individually add up to a quorum, Ramerman said.
For example, a Yakima developer had a series of individual meetings with council members to try to get consensus. “There’s no way to have a legal serial meeting,” Ramerman said.
Neither can a majority of elected officials, such as board members, have email or phone discussions, he said.
And if a majority of board members posted online comments about a news story, that, too, could be considered a serial meeting, he said.
Government records that the public can obtain aren’t limited to documents, Ford said. They can also include a public official or government employee’s private email or other information on personal computers involving government issues.
“I think it’s important to remember these laws are meant to build public trust,” Ramerman said. While some actions can legally be approved by consent, usually without discussion, “you need to ask yourself, ‘Is the public going to be satisfied with how we made the decision?’ “
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com
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