Far West councilors briefed on updated Open Public Meetings rules and expanded ethics disclosures

A pre-meeting training for Far West elected officials on Jan. 16 reviewed recent changes to the Open Public Meetings Act and a major expansion of disclosures under the Municipal Officers and Employees Ethics Act.

The trainer told councilors the statutory definition of a "meeting" was narrowed so that a meeting now requires both a quorum and a convening act: "Now people can't claim when you guys show up to the 4th July event... that you're having a public meeting," the presenter said, explaining the change is meant to prevent incidental social gatherings from being treated as public meetings. The presenter also emphasized a new prohibition that bars a quorum of a…