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Selectboard accepts corrective actions after Open Meeting Law complaint about late minutes
Summary
A resident alleged improper warnings and late postings for recent budget workshops; the town’s review found warnings compliant but confirmed minutes/recordings were not posted within five days and the Selectboard approved corrective actions and training updates. Motions passed unanimously.
Selectboard Chair Pat Haller and board members approved a set of corrective actions on March 26, 2026 after an Open Meeting Law complaint from resident Lori Johnson. Johnson alleged that several budget workshops held in January were not properly warned and that minutes and recordings were not made available in the five-calendar-day window required by statute. The town review found the meeting warnings met statutory requirements but confirmed a failure to post minutes and recordings within five days; the board approved remedial steps including updating the budget-workshop minutes to reflect specific discussions and improving the upload process with IT.
The corrective action package the board approved documented two specific budget-workshop clarifications: that on January 16 Chair Pat Haller proposed level funding for entities that submitted donation or budget requests, and that on January 28 N. Nichols again proposed level-funding for such requests including the Volunteer Fire Department and the Library. The board also recorded that the Town Administrator completed required Open Meeting Law training on March 3, 2026, and that Chair Haller completed training on March 19, 2026. The Selectboard voted to accept the corrective actions (motion passed 5-0).
Resident Lori Johnson had also recommended a town-specific grievance form and an OML checklist; the board added a grievance form to the Selectboard web page and agreed to pursue procedural improvements to reduce future posting delays. Nick Nichols urged the board to be more proactive next budget cycle to avoid time pressures and to give public notice with more than 24 hours when possible. The board directed staff to improve the meeting-upload process, particularly for meetings recorded without LCATV present.
