Updated–On Nov. 6 the Maryland Attorney General found that the Rock Hall Town Council violated the Open Meetings Act on April 30, and again on July 29, when a quorum of members in closed session discussed matters not covered under the “personnel exception” – the pretext used to initiate both closed sessions.
“We find that the Council discussed municipal governance matters that did not fall within the personnel exception,” the Open Meetings Act Compliance Board wrote in their Nov. 6 opinion. “The April 30 closed session culminated in a change in the Town’s reporting structure.”
The April 30 closed meeting was called to discuss a “confidential personnel matter” involving one employee — but the council members discussed broader measures that led to the transfer of Town Manager Ron Fithian’s supervisory powers over the Rock Hall Police Department to Mayor Robert Willis. The council also directed the town clerk to submit a weekly accounts payable report to the council.
The Open Meetings Act contains a provision that allows the council to hold a closed session “to discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation, or performance evaluation of appointees, employees, or officials over whom this public body has jurisdiction; or any other personnel matter that affects one or more specific individuals.”
Community activist, Grenville Whitman, filed the April 30 complaint for the misuse of the “personnel exception” under the Act.
The July 29 closed session was also conducted under the pretext of a private “personnel matter” but resulted in a comprehensive discussion of the legal protocols needed to amend the town charter for a recall of Mayor Willis. Another motion was discussed that barred Willis from conducting any further “official business” on behalf of the town without first seeking majority approval from the council.
Immediately after the closed session on July 29 the council voted 3-0 to limit Willis’ powers and to have the town attorney draft a charter amendment that cleared the way for the recall charter amendment.
The Compliance Board said that they could not find any written statement prior to the meeting that disclosed the topics to be discussed and the “statutory authority for closing the meeting.”
“If the Vice Mayor, who presided over the adjournment of the open session after the Mayor left, failed to prepare the written statement before the closed session, the Council violated the Act by meeting behind closed doors without making the necessary disclosures,” the Compliance Board said.
“We therefore conclude that the Council violated the Act twice by excluding the public from its discussion of topics that went well beyond the performance of an individual.”
Councilwoman Susan Francis brought the July 29 complaint.
Vice Mayor Brian Jones told the Spy of Monday that the closed session on July 29 should have been classified as “seeking legal advice from the town attorney.”
“We probably would have been covered,” Jones said.
As result of the Compliance Board’s ruling, the council was required to read the violations in open session on Nov. 14.
Jones said the AG’s ruling does not change any of the decisions the council made after the two closed sessions.
Gren Whitman says
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When a violation occurs, Maryland’s Open Meetings Act requires “a majority” of the Town Council to “sign a copy of the opinion and return the signed copy to the [Open Meetings Compliance] Board.” At the instigation of Mayor Bob Willis, the council has refused so far to comply with this legal requirement.