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Attorney gives annual Open Meetings training; warns against ex parte contacts, texting during meetings
Summary
An attorney-led annual training at the Morgan City Planning Commission emphasized that application-specific conversations outside meetings can create appearance-of-bias, that conflicts of interest are self-declared, and that side conversations or texting during a meeting can violate the Open Meetings Act.
Morgan City's Planning Commission received its annual training on the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act on Jan. 20, focusing on ex parte contacts, conflicts of interest and harassment.
Gary, the session's presenter and municipal attorney, told the commission general planning discussions are acceptable but warned members not to discuss any pending application outside the public meeting. "If you've got an application pending before you, you don't wanna talk about that," he said, urging commissioners to bring application-specific input to a public meeting so all members hear the same information.
Gary also cautioned against private side conversations and texting while seated on the dais. He described those practices as creating the appearance of a "secret combination" and said they can run afoul of the Open Meetings Act. "Texting is not good," he said, adding that recordings and livestreams are allowed but the written and approved minutes remain the official record.
On conflicts of interest, Gary said Utah follows a self-declaration model: members should disclose interests and recuse themselves when a pecuniary or immediate-family benefit could reasonably affect their impartiality. He outlined three common situations that require disclosure: owning a business in the city, working for a business that does business with the city, and doing business directly with the city. He advised that, when recusing, a member should leave the room and state the conflict on the record.
Commissioners raised practical questions about whether a member can be an applicant; Gary said a commissioner may be an applicant but must recuse from deliberations and votes on that matter. The group also discussed how council members should behave in planning meetings: "If you're pushing the planning commission one direction or another, [that's] not fair," Gary said, recommending that council members generally listen rather than lobby during hearings.
The training concluded with guidance on harassment and reporting: Gary said prompt reporting and documentation help avoid retaliation claims and large judgments, and he encouraged commissioners to report incidents to any staff member they feel comfortable approaching.
The work session paused briefly for a break before the commission moved into its regular meeting agenda.
