City cures self‑reported Open Meetings Act issue and discusses recruitment closure transparency for city manager search

City attorneys and staff told the City Commission on Tuesday they had self‑reported and cured a procedural Open Meetings Act issue related to the March–April city manager interview process, and they briefed commissioners on the Department of Justice’s recommendations for transparency and next steps.

Why it matters: Open Meetings Act compliance is statutory and transparency is vital to public trust. The city voluntarily reported a procedural lapse tied to how interviews were publicly noticed and has followed the Department of Justice guidance to “cure” the error by publicly acknowledging the issue and recording a commission action.

What happened: City Attorney Daryl Morey said the commission correctly used an executive session to hold candidate interviews but that the interviews were not preceded by a public meeting statement that included the required notice before adjourning to executive session. Under the Open Meetings Act, Daryl said, public business must be first announced in an open meeting before a governing body may adjourn to a closed executive session for a permitted purpose. The omission constituted a procedural lapse; the city voluntarily self‑reported the matter to the New Mexico Department of Justice (DOJ).

DOJ guidance and the city’s cure: Morey said DOJ strongly recommended a transparent cure: publicly describe the error, record a commission vote acknowledging and curing the omission, and send the minutes to DOJ. On Tuesday the commission voted to approve the cure for agenda item 8 by unanimous roll call (7–0). City staff told the commission the DOJ expressed appreciation that the city had self‑reported and was taking corrective steps.

Related recruitment action: City staff also briefed the commission about the prior closure of the city manager recruitment and the Department of Justice’s view that closing the recruitment without an open public action could be perceived as a public‑business decision that should be made in public. The city attorney said the charter and current policies do not explicitly prohibit certain staff actions but that stronger written policy and delegation authority were recommended to avoid future appearance‑of‑violation issues. The presentation said the closure of recruitment did not trigger an Open Meetings Act violation because the governing body had not taken the final action — but DOJ recommended transparency and a clear policy statement about who may open or close recruitments for the city manager position.

Next steps: The commission approved the cure vote on item 8 (7–0) and staff said they would send the minutes of Tuesday’s meeting to the Department of Justice for the record. The city attorney and staff said they will prepare a clearer policy or standard operating procedure outlining the commission’s expectations and delegation of authority for the city manager recruitment process.

Ending: Commissioners asked for a clear timeline for the policy work and for guidance on whether the commission should restart or resume any portion of the prior recruitment. Staff said the cure does not require restarting; rather, staff will draft and return with a recommended policy clarifying roles and the commission’s direction on next steps for the recruitment process.