EDGAR CO. (ECWd) –
Chris Patrick’s statement of “I’m in charge and frankly I don’t give a damn” was not seen in good light in the Attorney General’s office. They looked at the facts and determined without any doubt that Chris Patrick and the Edgar County Board did indeed violate the Open Meetings Act on May 20, 2013. What they (the ones not objecting) decided was that it was “common sense” to start the meeting early since the meeting prior ended early.
I would have thought that Mr. Zuber, having attended several hundred school board meetings, would have known that the only “common sense” that counts is what is written into law. He assisted in this violation of the law as did several other of the board members including Mike Heltsey – but we all know Mike’s used to violating laws anyway.
The law, or Open Meetings Act, states in part that “Sec. 2.01. All meetings required by this Act to be public shall be held at specified times and places which are convenient and open to the public. No meeting required by this Act to be public shall be held on a legal holiday unless the regular meeting day falls on that holiday". That means you cannot change the place or time within 48 hours of a meeting…just because you feel like. I doesn’t work that way.
…”Thus, the Board violated OMA by starting its May 20, 2013 meeting early”… something we told them when they were contemplating their “common sense” decision to break the law.
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Short version of the video:
