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Council admits Open Meeting Law posting error, fixes process and ratifies Dec. 30 votes
Summary
City attorney advised the council that two Open Meeting Law issues were found: missing complaint-filing instructions on the website (Act 133/1 V.S.A. §314) and a December 30 agenda mislabelled as a 'regular' rather than a 'special' meeting. The council admitted the violations, approved corrective steps, and ratified three votes from Dec. 30.
City attorney David Rue told the Barre City Council on Jan. 14 that the city had received a written allegation of two Open Meeting Law violations and recommended corrective actions.
Rue said the first issue was incomplete compliance with Act 133: while the city had posted the text of 1 V.S.A. §314, it had not posted an explanation of how to file an Open Meeting Law complaint. The second issue was that the Dec. 30, 2024 agenda incorrectly labeled a special meeting as a regular meeting; the Open Meeting Law requires special meetings be warned with 24-hour notice.
Why it matters: Vermont’s Open Meeting Law sets posting and notice rules for municipal meetings; failures can trigger required corrective steps including admission of the violation, public cure steps and, where necessary, ratification or voiding of actions taken at improperly warned meetings.
Council actions: Following attorney advice, the council moved and voted to admit the posting omission and to cure it by (a) posting clear complaint-filing instructions on the city website and distributing VLCT Open Meeting Law FAQ materials to new council members, the manager and committee chairs by Jan. 21, 2025. The council also admitted the Dec. 30 notice error and directed three corrective actions: amend city ordinance section 2.6 to comply with Vermont statute (to be read Jan. 28), post definitions and notice periods for regular/special/emergency meetings on the website, and create agenda templates for each meeting type by Jan. 21, 2025.
Finally, on advice of counsel the council ratified three actions taken at the Dec. 30 meeting: approval of the consent agenda, approval of warrants and ratification of the Dec. 17 vote pledging $400,000 toward the acquisition of 143 North Main St. by the Barre Area Development Corporation (BADC), subject to a sponsorship agreement. The ratifications passed by recorded roll calls where noted.
Ending: The council’s admissions and corrective motions were unanimous. The office of the city attorney will assist with the ordinance amendment and staff will post the required Open Meeting Law complaint instructions and templates.
