Anchorage Assembly members receive training on Alaska Open Meetings Act and municipal ordinance updates

The Anchorage Assembly held a work session on May 8 to train members on Alaska's Open Meetings Act and the municipality's recent updates to public-meetings rules, including Assembly Ordinance 202591 and the municipal code in chapter 1.25. Presenter Jeff Brazelle framed the session as an Alaska-specific review of statutory language and local procedure.

Brazelle read the statute''Alaska Statutes 44.62.310'.312'and said it expresses a policy that "actions of those units be taken openly and that their deliberation be conducted openly," adding that exceptions "shall be construed narrowly." He emphasized the QB test for determining when a gathering must be noticed to the public: Q for quantity (more than three members or a majority, whichever is less) and B for business (discussion of a matter the body may act upon).

Why it matters: the training connected statutory obligations to the Assembly's daily operations, noting that municipal code changes last year (Assembly Ordinance 202591, chapter 1.25) provide local detail on reasonable public notice, recording and minutes. Brazelle warned that failing to follow the law can lead to administrative complaints, Board of Ethics review, court suits (which generally must be filed within 180 days) and in some cases courts voiding actions or imposing fines.

Key points from the session:

- Meeting definition and examples: Brazelle illustrated how the quantity and business tests work in practice (three members vs four members, majority thresholds for small committees and subcommittees). He reiterated that a subordinate unit of two or more members can qualify as a municipal body depending on how it is formed.

- Serial/parallel communications: Brazelle cautioned that a sequence of individual conversations, emails, texts or social-media posts that collectively cover the same public-business topic can amount to a meeting that avoids public participation. "When members move from one member to the next with the same business discussion, this doesn't shield everyone from having engaged in a meeting," he said.

- Mitigation and best practices: members were advised to use staff as the information hub (staff can forward documents to the entire body), to check whether colleagues have already discussed an item and, importantly, to withdraw from a conversation when uncertain. Brazelle told members, "When in doubt, take yourself out." He also counseled to "air on the side of caution" when events may bring more than three members together.

- Executive sessions and limits: the trainer summarized that executive sessions (also called closed sessions) can be used only for reasons specified in statute and code (for example, certain personnel or legal matters), require a motion on the public record stating the subject and reason, and permit only limited actions inside (such as giving direction to legal counsel); substantive actions must be taken in open session.

- Remedies for alleged violations: Brazelle explained that the Assembly can attempt an informal cure by redoing an action in a public meeting; parties can also file ethics complaints or pursue a court action. He noted a 180-day window to file suit as one remedy available to individuals asserting a violation.

Q&A highlights: Members asked whether topics previously on an agenda but later pulled still require notice if discussed later; Brazelle answered yes if the body remains empowered to act on the matter. A member asked how to distinguish three-member sponsors working with staff from a formally designated subcommittee; Brazelle said a subcommittee is formally created on the record (by resolution or explicit appointment) and that informal sponsor work with staff is not the same as a subordinate municipal body but carries risk if it functions like one. On the mayor's role, Brazelle said the mayor participates much like an assembly member (may move or second motions) but typically cannot vote under the charter.

The session closed with a reminder to use clerk resources and staff when unsure and to consult ethics officers for potential violations. The work session adjourned with no formal actions taken.