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Some Tuscola officials concerned about Open Meeting act issues
Mary Drier
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 16:49:26 EDT
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The possibility that Tuscola County Commissioners violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act (OMA) by not conducting county business in public perview was raised during a meeting earlier this month.
Commissioner Thom Bardwell called fellow commissioners' attention to an article in the Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) newsletter regarding committee meetings to be held in accordance with the OMA. MAC is an organization of county commissioners, for county commissioners that is a watchdog of state government and political ethics.
Bardwell stated he does not believe the county is following the OMA regulations - especially since a change was made on how committee meetings are now being conducted. Tuscola County Clerk Jodi Fetting also addressed the OMA issue during the meeting.
Fetting, whose office is the official keeper of minutes of commissioners' meetings, called commissioners to task on the issue, which she also feels violates the OMA laws. Fetting went over the history regarding commissioners' action on meeting minutes.
The board of commissioners originally adopted Resolution 2019-05 (May 2019) stating committee meetings would be held in compliance with OMA. Then, commissioners approved a Motion 2023-M-299 (May 2023) that rescinded that resolution. That action nullified committee meetings held during a public meeting with notes being taken by the clerk's office.
Clerk Fetting strongly stated she believes the committee meetings that have been conducted since that change are in violation of the OMA. She asked the board to reconsider this matter.
Back when commissioners decided to change how committee meetings were conducted, both Bardwell and Fetting opposed the action as they deemed it a violation of state law. The Open Meetings Act not only outlines how meetings are to be conducted, but also includes fines for violations. A $1,000 fine can be levied against each commissioner for each OMA violation.
Tuscola's Board of Commissioners has five members, who can each be fined for each alleged violation.
