Editorial: A lesson in open government

With some new appointees to town committees and new members on the Town Board, this seems an appropriate time to make known some basic rules protected by New York State Open Government regulations.

We do this now because in the past month, we’ve had occasion to experience violations that are not maliciously intended. They’ve occurred, it seems, because of a misunderstanding of what constitutes an open meeting and attendant materials that should be made available to everyone in attendance or others upon a Freedom of Information request.

At a recent committee meeting, a reporter received a copy of a document to be discussed in open session that night, made notes on that copy, and after returning home received an emailed request that the document be returned because it was only a draft.

According to Kristin O’Neill, assistant director of the state’s Committee on Open Government, once a document is given to a reporter or is discussed in open session, invoking any inter-agency protection from making it public is waived.

An agenda and copies of materials to be discussed during an open meeting should be made available to the public either online or at the meeting site.

If the document is a draft, it obligates any reporting to reflect that fact and indicate there may be changes. But that in no way prohibits copying that document and using it as the basis of a story.

Ms. O’Neill made reference to Section 103(e) in the Open Meetings Law as the basis for her advice.

There are exceptions, such as details involving the employment of a particular person, legal matters or negotiations that could affect the outcome, which rightfully should be discussed in closed executive sessions. But materials that are discussed at open sessions should be made available to any and all people in attendance at the meeting.

It’s obvious that in many cases it is impossible to understand what committee members are talking about without having a document in hand. References to changing a word or adding or eliminating a bullet point would be senseless without seeing the document.

We invite all officials to become familiar with the Open Meetings Law and to act in accordance. The people who employ you — and, in the case of Town Board members and members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, pay your salaries — have a right to know.

Erring on the side of more information is better, especially in a small town where rumors are usually far worse than the truth.