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New Canaan orientation stresses FOIA caution: avoid private subcommittees, don’t use personal email, post hybrid links early
Summary
An hourlong Freedom of Information Act orientation for New Canaan’s newly seated council emphasized that informal groups can become public 'subcommittees,' warned against substantive email exchanges and 'reply all,' and urged posting hybrid meeting links well in advance.
New Canaan — New members of the New Canaan Town Council were briefed on Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act at an orientation that focused on how ordinary conversations, email threads and small working groups can become public ‘meetings’ under state law.
Presenters Ira Bloom and Nick Pamonte, who led the session, told the council that even informal groupings of members can be treated as subcommittees and therefore must follow notice and minutes requirements. Bloom cited a local building‑committee example in which the town lost a FOIA claim after a media member was excluded from a subcommittee site visit.
“Sometimes you inadvertently create a subcommittee,” Bloom said, explaining that the legal test often depends on whether the group has been given an implied or…
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