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Judge Executive reads apology after resident cites Attorney General finding on open-meetings violations
Summary
At the Jan. 21 Spencer County Fiscal Court meeting resident Larry Trageser told the court the Attorney General found Judge Executive John Riley violated Kentucky open-meetings statutes; Riley delivered a written apology that was entered into the minutes and asked the court to move on to routine business.
John Riley, the Spencer County judge executive, read a written apology into the record at the Jan. 21 Fiscal Court meeting after a resident said an Attorney General opinion found the judge had violated Kentucky's open-meetings laws.
During the public-comment period, resident Lawrence Trageser told the court that “the Attorney General had ruled that the Spencer County Judge Executive had violated KRS 61.810(1), KRS 61.815(1)(a)… and KRS 61.815(1)(d),” and said he had “won every violation” in that review. Trageser told the court he would pursue Circuit Court if future violations occurred.
Riley asked that a written apology be included in the meeting minutes and read a multi-page statement that said in part, “I'm sorry and I apologize,” and acknowledged the strain that the dispute had placed on county staff, volunteers and elected officials. The apology was entered into the record at the Jan. 21 meeting.
The exchange followed Trageser’s public-comment claim about specific statutory violations alleging improper notice for a closed session and that topics discussed exceeded those announced. The court minutes record Trageser’s contention that he had pursued an opinion from the Attorney General and prevailed on the claims he raised.
County Attorney Ken Jones was mentioned during the discussion; the minutes show Jones had been involved in earlier correspondence and legal advice, but the minutes do not record a formal legal rebuttal from the county during the Jan. 21 meeting.
The meeting record shows Riley asked the court to move forward with routine business after placing the apology on the record. The minutes also note the county clerk filed the apology and associated correspondence with the minutes for the official record.
