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| Areglado files minutes after Open Meetings Act deadline |
The Charter Revision Advisory Committee (CRAC) recommendations for changes to the Town Charter are on the agenda for a public hearing at tonight's Town Council meeting. However, until just a few hours ago, the CRAC secretary, Maureen Areglado, had not filed the CRAC minutes for their final meeting on April 30 when their final deliberations took place.
The Rhode Island Open Meetings Act (RIGL 42-46-7) allows no more than 35 days after a meeting for the minutes to be filed, not 42, and certainly not on the day when the parent body, in this case the Town Council, is scheduled to act on their recommendations.
After all, how is the public supposed to be able to participate in the process when required public records aren't made available - in this instance, simply not published.
I filed an Open Meetings Act complaint with the state Attorney General's office yesterday, citing this lapse, and cc'd our acting Town Administrator Pat Anderson and Town Clerk Amy Rose Weinreich.
And lo and behold, the long-delayed minutes appear deep inside the Town's website. See the minutes by clicking here.
It should not take a citizens' complaint to make a public body like the CRAC obey the law. For much of its term, the CRAC members frequently spoke of the importance of open and transparent government. CRAC, practice what you preach.
Indeed, Ms. Areglado should be quite familiar with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act since she, her husband Ron, and Mike and Donna Chambers filed an extensive Open Meetings Act complaint against Town Council members Gregg Avedisian, Marge Frank and former Council member Candi Dunn. Areglado's complaint was dismissed.
In my complaint to the Attorney General's office, I noted that the failure of the CRAC to publish its minutes on its final deliberations in a timely fashion raised questions about the legitimacy of tonight's public hearing and potential Town Council vote.
This Town Council has played fast and loose with the Open Meetings Act in the past - and has gotten nailed for it - so we'll see tonight if whether they vote tonight or postpone the hearing until their anticipated second June meeting to address issues that don't get covered tonight.
Areglado's minutes also omit Robert Yarnall's rebuttal statement to the April 28 attack letter that fellow CRACer Donna Chambers had inserted into the minutes. You can read Yarnall's statement, along with Chambers', by clicking here.
