St. Clairsville residents deserve better governance than they are getting from City Council.
It appears that on Monday, council violated the Ohio Open Meetings Act by casting votes to appoint two members to the recreation board via email. During a meeting conducted by teleconference, members cast what amounted to secret ballots by sending their votes in by email. While the result of the vote was announced council reappointed incumbents Alicia Freeman and Diane Schubert to the board those listening to the meeting had no way to know which council members had voted for which candidates.
The “2021 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual” published by Attorney General Dave Yost’s office states: “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.”
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.
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YOUNGSTOWN A new filing in the open meetings lawsuit filed by a Lowellville couple suggests the Lowellville Board of Education committed another violation.
It also asks the 7th District Court of Appeals to overturn a board decision last summer to switch to a remote-only education plan for the school district for the first nine weeks of the school year.
Christopher and Gina Crilley, parents of two Lowellville students, also want the appeals court to order the school board to pay for their attorney fees since the litigation began.
The 40-page filing, written by attorney Robert T. McDowall of Austintown, outlines the dispute between the Crilleys and the school district. The school board’s attorneys have not yet filed a response.