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Planning staff urges commissioners to use county email to avoid GRAMA exposure and quorum problems
Summary
Staff reminded commissioners to use their county email and contact the designated staff member when unable to attend; the reminder cited GRAMA and a 2019 State Records Committee decision about text-message disclosure.
Planning staff on Thursday warned commissioners that using personal phones and informal text threads for commission business can create open-records exposure and quorum risks and asked commissioners to use their county email and to notify staff per bylaws when they will miss a meeting.
The warning is intended to reduce administrative work, protect commissioners’ personal devices from disclosure under public-records requests, and ensure the county can demonstrate compliance with notice and quorum rules.
A planning staff member told commissioners, "Per bylaws, specifically section e 1, if a commissioner is not getting to be able to make it to a meeting, you need to contact Judy. And I'd recommend doing it via your county email so we can trace it." The staff member warned that personal text messages used for business have been subject to disclosure: "There was a 2019 decision, with the SRC, the State Records Committee, in which, you know, text messages on personal cell phones between members of a board, they were required to disclose those under GRAMA."
The staff recommendation was procedural: use county email for meeting notices and responses; set reminders to check the county account; and contact Judy as the official meeting contact. The presenter said that using county email makes it easier for staff to respond to GRAMA requests and reduces the risk of inadvertent disclosure of personal messages.
Several commissioners asked practical questions about whether they should email every week or only when they cannot attend; staff said the contact mechanism and timing should follow Judy's instructions, and commissioners discussed establishing a habit of responding to the packet notice when it is distributed.
The discussion also included complaints from a commissioner and a member of the public about repeatedly continued agenda items (one example was continued hearings being noticed and then postponed), and staff described measures it takes, such as posting notices on the door and the website. Staff emphasized that the county must follow state statute and noted limits on administrative flexibility when applicants request continuances.
