Apr 29, 2021
The
Monday, May 3, 2021 at
7:30 P.M. via TELECONFERENCE. Residents are encouraged to listen.
A
UTILITIES COMMITTEE meeting will take place prior to the Council meeting at
6:30 P.M. This will be conducted in a TELECONFERENCE format.Residents will be in a LISTEN ONLY MODE and may use the same dial-in number and access code provided for the Council meeting listed below.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the changes that have been made to Ohio’s Open Meetings Act (which temporarily allows public bodies to conduct meetings and hearings electronically during this state of emergency), the public may participate using the phone number and access code below.
Don't Shut Public Out of Meetings | News, Sports, Jobs theintelligencer.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theintelligencer.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Times Leader Staff Writer
ST. CLAIRSVILLE St. Clairsville City Council members took no action Monday to correct a vote cast by email that appeared to violate the Ohio Open Meetings Act, but the emails were read aloud and each member verbally confirmed their vote was recorded correctly.
The vote by email occurred April 5 to fill two seats on the recreation board. Council chose not to rescind the vote and said plans are in the works to revive in-person meetings, which would hopefully prevent such incidents in the future.
According to the “2021 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual” published by Attorney General Dave Yosts’s office: “A public body must make all of its meetings open to the public at all times. Secret ballots, whispering of public business, and ’round-robin’ discussions are all prohibited under the openness requirement.”
St. C. vote by email appears improper | News, Sports, Jobs timesleaderonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesleaderonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Times Leader Staff Writer
ST. CLAIRSVILLE St. Clairsville City Council appears to have violated the Ohio Open Meetings Act on Monday, when members cast votes on board appointments via email.
According to the “2021 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual” published by Attorney General Dave Yosts’s office: “A public body must make all of its meetings open to the public at all times. Secret ballots, whispering of public business, and ’round-robin’ discussions are all prohibited under the openness requirement.”
Members of the public who listened to the council meeting that was conducted via teleconference heard no information about which council members voted for which nominees incumbent recreation board members Alicia Freeman and Diane Schubert and the newly nominated Lisa Amos but heard the results of the vote.