Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Electronic Communications topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County legal team warns commissioners that reply-all and social media exchanges can create open-meeting violations
Summary
Presenters cautioned that serial communications—reply-all emails and majority participation in social media threads—can qualify as meetings under KOMA and advised commissioners to avoid interactive exchanges that could amount to deliberations outside public meetings.
Justin Wagner and Deputy District Attorney Aaron Bridal told the Board that communication patterns matter: a sequence of messages among a majority that share a common topic and an intent to reach agreement can meet the elements of a meeting under the Kansas Open Meetings Act. Wagner and staff gave practical guidance: route substantive suggestions through meeting organizers or staff rather than replying to a board-wide thread.
Wagner cited an Attorney General opinion involving a Lincoln County Facebook thread as an example of how social-media exchanges can create risk even when officials did not intend to act. “It’s wise to be careful about that,” he said, noting that an interactive exchange among a majority may be construed as a meeting if it addresses the body’s business. Presenters recommended avoiding “reply all,” using meeting agendas and formal public meetings for deliberations, and consulting legal counsel when in doubt.
