GEORGETOWN – The state House Ways and Means Committee is considering a measure that would allow municipalities to request relief from the Attorney General from having to address complaints about open meeting violations from a single individual who files more than a dozen complaints in a year.
The Open Meeting Laws is a complex series of regulations designed to ensure the public knows what is going on in municipal and state governmental agencies.
The change, proposed by the assistant majority leader, Alice Hanlon Peisch, would limit what is considered abuse by private citizens toward local government agencies.
The proposed new law states: “A public body must meet to review and respond to a complaint not later than 14 business days after receipt thereof confirming receipt of the complaint and identifying any remedial action(s) taken or intended to be taken by the public body in response to the complaint; provided, however, that if a complainant files more than 12 complaints with the same public body within the same calendar year, or a complaint is otherwise unduly burdensome, the public body may file a petition with the Attorney General seeking relief from the obligation to respond to the complaint.
“The Attorney General may consider, without limitation, (i) the previous record of compliance or non-compliance by the public body; (ii) the burden placed on the public body in responding to the complaint; (iii) any evidence of harassment or intimidation on the part of the complainant; (iv) the facts of the alleged violation; and (v) the number of complaints filed against the public body or other public bodies within the municipality.
The measure, if passed, allows that the Attorney General may authorize an extension of time to correct the issue, as requested by the board or commission.
Among those cheering the loudest for the change are staff and members of Georgetown boards and commissions, and particularly its Conservation Commission (ConComm).
Towns and cities support this measure because any complaint filed with the Attorney General, the town clerk and individual boards and commission takes significant staff and board members’ time. They usually also requires that their municipal attorney review and write a rebuttal to the complaint.
The fees paid to the private attorneys for this service can be costly at a time when towns and especially Georgetown faces major shortfalls in their finances.
In Georgetown, the ConCom, along with the SelectBoard and the Schools Committee, have faced several complaints, including some multiple complaints, from two residents for open meeting violations.
Residents Kevin Wood and Michael Donahue, a member of two boards who ran unsuccessfully for the SelectBoard in the last election, have filed several complaints about open meeting violations this year.
When asked why he filed multiple accusations about open meeting violations against Georgetown boards and commissions, Wood declined to reply.
Wood and Donahue filed complaints against the volunteer boards for failing to complete minutes within a required time, to post notice of the reasons for executive sessions and to discuss issues at meetings that were not on the agenda.
Production of meeting minutes are important to keep the public informed, but they are time-consuming. Several of Georgetown’s boards and commissions have not posted their meeting minutes for months, including the Parks and Recreation Board, which Donahue is a board member.
Both Donahue and Wood have filed complaints against the SelectBoard, as well as the ConComm.
One complaint filed by Kevin Wood last November alleged that former SelectBoard chair Amy Smith did not list publicly the topics that the board and the ConComm discussed in a joint executive session. The closed joint meeting was called to repair the relationship between the SelectBoard and the ConComm and appoint a moderator to mediate future meetings.
The Attorney General ruled the SelectBoard had violated the open meeting law. But the remedy imposed was that the Attorney General told the board not to do it again.
Donahue filed an open meeting violation against the SelectBoard when Smith allowed Chris Candia, now the ConComm’s chair, to address the board on topics that were not listed on the SelectBoard agenda.
The ConComm appears to be a particular target of Wood. During 2024, the ConComm has received at least seven complaints filed with the town clerk and state Attorney General.
“Why doesn’t he (Wood) just call me?” said a frustrated Michele Grenier, the town conservation agent, who had to write pages of response when Wood complained in late 2023 that minutes for several meetings were not posted on the town’s web site.
The town’s law firm, KP Law, told the Attorney General that the ConComm did not have any staff for several months during 2023 until it hired Genier last November. After being hired, she took several weeks to complete the minutes, but not before the complaint was filed.
Grenier said she watched videos of previous meetings from Georgetown Community Television to complete the minutes.
Another complaint was that the then ConComm chair Carl Shreder discussed his interview with a candidate for the position of conservation agent before calling the meeting to order. After a review of the meeting, the Attorney General ruled that the ConComm had violated the Open Meeting Law, as Wood alleged, but told the ConComm only to comply with the law in the future.
The Attorney General has threatened Georgetown boards and commission with a $1,000 fine, but no fine has yet been imposed.
