Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway,Attorney General;James M. Herrick,Assistant Attorney General
Open Meetings Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the Tompkinsville-Monroe County Airport Board ("Board") violated the Open Meetings Act in connection with its monthly meetings from January 2012 to January 2015. Due to the Board's failure to respond to the complaint or the appeal, we find the Board to be in violation of the Act.
In an undated letter, John Foote submitted a written complaint to Board Chairman Marshall Hodges in which he alleged that the Board had violated the Open Meetings Act by holding monthly meetings from January 2012 to January 2015 without making public a schedule of regular meetings, giving notice of special meetings, posting special meeting agendas, or making meeting minutes available to the public. Mr. Foote proposed various remedies for the alleged violations pursuant to KRS 61.846(1). No response was apparently made to the complaint.
Mr. Foote's undated appeal to the Attorney General was postmarked February 4, 2015, and received in this office on February 9, 2015. No response to the appeal has been received from the Board or from the Monroe County Attorney. It appears that the Board is without legal counsel at this time.
KRS 61.820(2) requires a public agency to provide for a schedule of regular meetings and make that schedule available to the public. A meeting not included in a regular schedule is deemed to be a special meeting. 92-OMD-1840. Special meetings must comply with the notice requirements of KRS 61.823, including publication of the agenda. Furthermore, minutes of every meeting are required to be recorded and made available for public inspection. KRS 61.835.
Since the Board has not responded to the complaint or the appeal, or otherwise denied the allegations, we must conclude that the Board violated the Open Meetings Act. Additionally, the Board committed a procedural violation of KRS 61.846(1) by failing to respond to Mr. Foote's complaint. 15-OMD-033.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.846(4)(a). The Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.