An investigation found 2 separate violations against Otis selectmen, who met at the Otis Poultry Farm to discuss how to discipline the town's police chief.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha M. Coakley is recommending fines against the Otis and Wayland boards of selectmen for violating the state's open meeting law.By STEVE LeBLANC
BOSTON — For the first time since taking over enforcement of the state's open meeting law, Attorney General Martha Coakley is recommending fines against two local boards of selectmen.
Coakley said the recommendations followed investigations into the activities of the Wayland and Otis boards, including a discussion of possible disciplinary action against the Otis police chief over her job performance.
In the case of Wayland, Coakley said a review of a local cable access broadcast showed a majority of the board's members gathered before the scheduled meeting time and deliberated quietly about the appointment of potential candidates to a local town board on July 8, 2010.
Investigators reviewed emails and meeting minutes and interviewed board members before concluding the board violated the law.
A call to the Wayland board of selectmen wasn't immediately returned.
A second investigation found two separate violations against Otis selectmen, Coakley said. Investigators pointed to the board's decision to meet at the Otis Poultry Farm on August 9, 2010, to talk about how to discipline the town's police chief.
The meeting occurred without notice of it being posted and without opening it to the public, investigators said. In addition, board members continued to discuss the matter privately after the initial meeting, investigators said.
Coakley's office found the board violated the law twice, first by holding the initial meeting without posting it or keeping minutes, and then by debating the issue for the next ten days.
Otis Town Administration Christopher Morris said the board of selectmen will take the matter under advisement and discuss their next steps with the town's legal counsel.
Both investigations were launched in response to complaints received by her office, Coakley said. In both cases, the violations were intentional, she said.
The boards face hearings before an administrative law judge and possible $1,000 fines.
The investigations were the first of their kind to result in allegations of intentional efforts to avoid the open meeting law since Coakley's office was handed oversight of the law in July 2010. The Attorney General's Division of Open Government has reviewed more than 170 complaints, issuing a variety of determinations and advisory opinions, she said.
Coakley said her goal is to use the statute "to promote greater transparency and uniform compliance with the law throughout state government."
There are limits to which governmental bodies Coakley can investigate under the law, which is designed to guarantee the public's access to the actions and deliberations of their government.
The law does not extend to the 200-member Legislature, which exempted itself from the statute.
Democrats, who hold overwhelming majorities in both the Massachusetts House and Senate, routinely hold closed door caucuses during which they discuss pending legislation before debating it publicly.
During the caucuses, court officers are often posted to prevent reporters and the public from getting inside to listen to the private discussions. Occasionally, the House or Senate has held joint caucuses of Democrats and Republicans — in effect, private meetings of the entire state Legislature.
Legislative leaders have defended the caucuses, saying bills are still debated and voted on in public. They also say lawmakers hold public hearings on pending legislation.