Los Alamos lodgers-tax advisory board holds training on Open Meetings Act, rolling quorums and meeting procedure

Los Alamos County attorney Larissa Breen led a training for the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board focused on the boards-and-commissions manual, the Open Meetings Act and practical rules for conducting meetings, including motions, votes and conflict-of-interest safeguards.

Breen told the five-member advisory board that the county’s rules mirror New Mexico statutes that authorize lodgers-tax advisory boards and that the board’s role is advisory to County Council on how lodgers-tax funds should be spent to promote tourism. “This manual is extremely helpful” for questions about what boards can and can’t do, she said.

The training emphasized two procedural priorities: careful agenda setting and avoiding so-called rolling quorums. Breen defined a rolling quorum as a situation in which a quorum is effectively formed through serial communications or overlapping smaller-group conversations, and warned that such exchanges — for example, email chains that include multiple members — can be used after the fact to challenge a board decision. “It would take them not liking a decision and then they would basically work backward,” Breen said, describing how an IPRA request for email exchanges could be used to allege improper prior discussion.

Breen advised members to route requests to place items on the agenda through the chair and to copy the staff liaison, Ellen Felton, rather than engage the full group in email threads that could risk a rolling quorum. She also recommended limiting substantive pre-meeting discussions to fewer than a quorum and documenting meeting records carefully.

The presentation covered ordinary meeting mechanics: only one agenda item at a time, the need for a motion and a second before a vote, roll-call voting, and the requirement that members abstain when they have a direct financial interest. On conflict-of-interest issues, Breen said the rules can be nuanced and will be vetted under the county’s code of conduct when specific questions arise.

Breen also reviewed the board’s work plan as the document that guides priorities and measures progress, and distinguished informal working groups (which operate under quorum limits and provide nonbinding recommendations) from council-created subcommittees with defined terms.

Votes at a glance: The board approved the day’s agenda and approved the meeting minutes from July 15, 2025. In both cases members recorded affirmative votes (Sonia, Kevin and the chair) and the motions carried.

Looking ahead: Board members discussed proposing future agenda topics (including better use of tourism data) and agreed the next meeting is expected Oct. 21 from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.; Ellen Felton will confirm logistics. The meeting adjourned following announcements.