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City attorney: open‑meeting complaint over Salem letter lacks supporting evidence; council authorizes response
Summary
The city solicitor told the council an Open Meeting complaint alleging out-of-session deliberations over a letter to the governor lacked evidence; the council voted to authorize the solicitor’s office to file the required response to the complaint.
The City of Lynn’s solicitor told the council on Jan. 28 that an Open Meeting complaint alleging deliberations outside a public meeting related to a circulated letter to the governor did not have supporting evidence and that the council should authorize the solicitor’s office to respond to the complaint as required by law.
City Attorney Jim Lamanna said the complaint arose after an email campaign organized from outside the city asking elected officials across municipalities to sign a letter about the State shelter system. “Our investigation reveals that Salem City Council has sent an email individually to numerous elected officials across the state asking them to sign on to a letter to Governor Healey,” Lamanna said. “There’s no evidence of deliberations outside of a public meeting.”
Lamanna advised that the council must put the complaint on a public agenda and respond to the complainant and the Attorney General’s office within the statutory timeframe. The council voted to authorize the city solicitor’s office to prepare and file the response.
Ending
The solicitor’s office will file the required response within the Open Meeting Law timetable; councilors were advised that other municipalities would be expected to follow similar steps if they received similar complaints.
