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FOI officer warns Newington EDC against untracked email discussions; recommends council review for subcommittees
Summary
At its monthly meeting the Newington Economic Development Commission heard a detailed FOI briefing on bylaws, quorum rules and risks from informal email exchanges; staff recommended council action to authorize standing or temporary subcommittees and offered to follow up with FOI counsel and the town attorney.
The Newington Economic Development Commission received guidance from a FOI education officer on how state open-meeting laws affect the commission’s communications and the formation of subcommittees.
The FOI education officer said the commission’s powers come from a mix of the town charter, ordinances and state law and noted the commission’s bylaws date to 2008. He told members they should avoid email exchanges that solicit comments from a quorum because such exchanges can be treated as an unposted meeting under the Freedom of Information rules.
“We’re looking at that for you,” the FOI education officer said, explaining the town could create a single preserved email account for commission business so records are available and do not create FOI exposure.
Commissioners asked whether they can create working groups or subcommittees to move projects forward between monthly meetings. The FOI education officer said the council usually retains the power to create formal subcommittees through ordinance or resolution, and that the commission can only form smaller working groups that do not reach quorum-level deliberation and that bring recommendations back to the full commission.
“You can send general information…Nobody should respond on that,” he said, describing a best-practice where staff or the chair receives information and places items on a public agenda rather than starting an online deliberation.
He clarified quorum rules for the nine-member board (a quorum is five) and outlined the difference between regular meetings (scheduled annually) and special meetings (outside the schedule), including posting and minutes timelines in the boards-and-commissions booklet. He also told members it would be possible for the council to adopt a resolution allowing up to a set number of subcommittees or giving the commission more flexibility to appoint temporary committees.
Commissioners raised practical concerns: they said working groups are useful for moving downtown initiatives and the passport program forward and asked whether staff can act as the distribution point for information. The FOI education officer said staff liaison coordination and consultation with the town attorney and FOI commission would be the prudent next steps.
The FOI education officer offered to send follow-up materials and minutes from prior bylaw work. The commission agreed to review existing bylaws and consider asking the council to clarify subcommittee authority before creating standing committees.
