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City attorney says state opened Open Meeting Law inquiry; council authorizes response, discusses school‑interview screening
Summary
The Lawrence City Council heard two Open Meeting Law matters: a state inquiry into a council press release prompted the city attorney to collect and publish a single text and sworn statements; the council also authorized the city attorney to respond to a second complaint about executive‑session screening of school‑committee interviews.
City Attorney reported that the state had opened an inquiry after a press release issued by several council members raised questions under the Open Meeting Law. The attorney said investigators sought all communications tied to the statement; the council’s review found no email exchanges among the five signers, only one text message and a series of individual phone calls. The attorney said he would make the text public and send it to the state.
Council President Joveny Rodriguez and Vice President Infante described drafting a response to an earlier press release by phone and via a Google doc, and said the material in the statement restated positions already aired during public meetings. The vice president said the drafting included calls to individual councilors to solicit short quotes, and that those quotes were subsequently read into the draft press release.
Separately the council considered a second Open Meeting Law complaint alleging that the personnel committee improperly held preliminary screening interviews for school‑committee candidates in executive session. The city attorney told the council that state regulations permit a screening committee under the statutory exemption cited by the attorney; he recommended preparing a written response explaining the process and noting that no final vote took place in executive session.
After discussion the council voted to authorize the city attorney to prepare and send the responses in both matters. The authorization was recorded by roll call. The attorney told the meeting he will provide the state the single text message and the minutes of the read statements, and will keep the council apprised if the inspector’s office asks for further materials.
The city attorney also told councilors he would research a related procedural question raised later in the meeting: whether the city charter’s Section 5.6 forbids compensated city employees from serving on the (now partly appointed) school committee. Because that question affects the legal‑seat appointment under consideration, the council later voted to table that confirmation until the attorney returns with research (see related article on school‑committee appointments).
