SOUTH HADLEY — Fire District No. 1’s Prudential Committee violated the state’s Open Meeting Law by posting a notice for a March 31 meeting less than 48 hours prior to it being held, even though there was no emergency that prompted the session.
The state attorney general’s office issued the ruling Monday in response to a complaint from Kevin Taugher, a former member of the Prudential Committee, that it was inappropriate to make a posting for the meeting to “discuss and vote on Fire District No. 1 warrant for District Election to be held on April 12, 2022” on the same morning it was being held at 4:30 p.m.
While the committee defended its action due to a need to wait for the Select Board to set the times for the town election, which coincides with the prudential election, the Division of Open Government rejected that argument in its decision, written by Elizabeth Carnes Flynn, the assistant attorney general.
“That the election would be held on April 12, that the committee would need to vote on the election warrant, and that certain deadlines would need to be met prior to the election were all known well in advance of the March 31 meeting,” Carnes Flynn wrote. “There is no suggestion that the board’s final decision regarding the specific voting hours impacted these requirements.
Since the election was held, there is no remedial action required and the results of the vote that day stand.
But the attorney general’s office is warning the Prudential Committee against further violations: “We order the committee’s immediate and future compliance with the Open Meeting Law, and caution that similar future violations could be considered evidence of intent to violate the law,” Carnes Flynn wrote.
Already, Taugher has filed another complaint with the attorney general’s office that has not yet been decided. That is related to the Prudential Committee’s June 29 meeting and its posting and subsequent adjustment of the topics.
