Request By:
Mr. Gerald D. Roark
Councilman
City of Olive Hill
P.O. Box 522
Olive Hill, Kentucky 41164
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of January 29 in which you as city councilman of the city of Olive Hill, a city of the fourth class, relate that four (4) members of the city council, which constitutes a quorum, met before a regular meeting and decided among themselves as to how they would vote on a matter subsequently brought up at a regular meeting. No notice was given of the meeting. You raise the question as to whether or not the Open Meetings Act was violated and if so, what, if any, penalties are involved.
KRS 61.805 (1) defines "meetings" to mean all gatherings of every kind, regardless of where the meeting is held, and whether a regular or special and informational or casual gathering held in anticipation of or in conjunction with a regular or special meeting. KRS 61.810 provides that all meetings of a quorum of the members of a public agency at which any public business is discussed are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times with certain exceptions therein listed, none of which are apparently applicable to your question.
It is thus apparent from the facts presented that the meeting of the four (4) councilmen, constituting a quorum of the six (6) man council, at which they discussed and decided how they will vote on a matter subsequently brought before the council at a regular meeting, would constitute a public meeting open to the public and requiring public notice and specific notification in compliance with the Open Meetings Act, namely KRS 61.805 to 61.850. See also OAG 77-171, copy attached.
Next concerning the penalties for violating the Open Meetings Act, we initially refer you to KRS 61.845 in which it is provided that the act may be enforced in circuit court by injunction or appropriate order upon application by any citizen. There is also a specific penalty for violating the act under KRS 61.991 (1) which provides that any person who knowingly attends a meeting of any public agency covered by the act of which he is a member, not held in accordance with the provisions thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollards ($100).
Your second question concerns how an ordinance should be worded, how it is to be advertised, and when it becomes effective.
We cannot assist you concerning the wording of ordinances generally, however, you may be able to obtain some information concerning model ordinances from the Kentucky Municipal League, P.O. Box 11690, Lexington, Kentucky 40577. All ordinances in cities of the fourth class must be advertised under the terms of KRS 86.090 pursuant to Ch. 424 KRS, and unless and until the ordinance is published, it is unenforceable. KRS 424.130 (1) (a) requires all ordinances to be published one (1) time only and within thirty (30) days after their passage.