Village of Princeville did not violate OMA by failing to set fixed schedule for as-needed committee meetings
The requester challenged the lack of a published schedule for village committee meetings.
Plain-language summary
This determination addresses whether the Village of Princeville violated Section 2.01 of the Open Meetings Act by failing to state specified times and places for committee meetings. The Public Access Counselor concluded there was no violation, finding the request for review unfounded. The reasoning explains that the specific scheduling requirements of Sections 2.02(a) and 2.03 apply only to 'regular' meetings scheduled at the start of the calendar or fiscal year, and because the Village's committees do not meet on a regular schedule, no such schedule was required; the Village's practice of holding committee meetings at a specified place (Village Hall) with 48 hours' notice satisfied the general convenience requirement of Section 2.01 and the notice requirements of Section 2.02(b). The public body reviewed was the Village of Princeville, and the underlying matter concerned committee meeting scheduling and notice practices.
Legal question
Whether a public body violates the Open Meetings Act by failing to provide a fixed schedule of meeting times for committees that meet only on an as-needed basis.
Holding
The specific meeting-schedule requirements of Sections 2.02(a) and 2.03 of OMA apply only to regular meetings and do not require a public body whose committees meet on an as-needed basis to publish a fixed schedule, so long as notice and place requirements under Sections 2.01 and 2.02(b) are otherwise met.
Summary
A requester alleged that the Village of Princeville violated the Open Meetings Act by failing to provide specified times and places for committee meetings. The PAC determined that because the committees do not meet on a regular schedule, the Village's practice of providing notice 48 hours in advance of meetings held at the Village Hall complies with the Act.
Issues decided in this letter
Each question the Public Access Bureau decided, with the rule it applied. Extracted automatically from the letter; the source PDF is authoritative.
- No violationOMA section 2.01
Failure to specify committee meeting times and places
Rule applied: Section 2.01 requires public meetings to be held at specified times and places convenient and open to the public, but committees that do not meet regularly have no schedule of regular meetings to publish.
- No violationOMA section 2.02(a)
Failure to provide schedule of regular committee meetings
Rule applied: Section 2.02(a) requires public notice of the schedule of regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar or fiscal year, but this applies only to regular meetings, not committees that do not meet regularly.
- No violationOMA section 2.03
Failure to prepare and make available schedule of regular meetings
Rule applied: Section 2.03 requires preparation of a schedule of all regular meetings listing times and places, but this applies only to regular meetings, not committees that do not meet regularly.
- No violationOMA section 2.02(b)
Failure to provide 48 hours' notice of committee meetings
Rule applied: The record shows the Village provided 48 hours' notice of committee meetings as required by sections 2.02(a) and 2.02(b).