15-OMD-120

15-OMD-120

July 7, 2015

In re: Al Nesteruk/City of Goshen

Summary:        City of Goshen violated the Open Meetings Act in failing to comply with all notice requirements codified at KRS 61.815(1)(a) prior to holding a closed session during its May 12, 2015, special meeting and improperly discussed a general personnel matter (salary increase for the City Clerk) beyond the scope of KRS 61.810(1)(f) during that closed session.        

Open Meetings Decision

        Al Nesteruk initiated this appeal challenging the disposition by the City of Goshen of his complaint regarding the actions of the Goshen City Commission (the City) during its May 12, 2015, special meeting.  By e-mail directed to Mayor Bobby Thacker on May 13, 2015, Mr. Nesteruk alleged that in discussing a salary increase for the City Clerk during its May 12 closed session the City violated the Open Meetings Act. Mr. Nesteruk observed that Mayor Thacker stated the reason for the closed session but failed to cite the specific provision of KRS 61.810 authorizing the closed session; he further alleged that KRS 61.810(1)(f), upon which the City had implicitly relied, prohibits discussion of general personnel matters, including salary increases, during a closed session and the May 12 closed session was therefore improper.  To remedy these alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act, Mr. Nesteruk proposed, among other things, “that the City Clerk salary discussion be addressed at the next meeting in open forum as it should have been in the first place.”  

        By e-mail dated May 16, 2015,¹ Mayor Thacker advised that the City has “consulted our attorney and will need to correct the error of not mentioning the KRS 61.810 before going into closed session. No Commissioner recognized this and it certainly was not intentional. This will be corrected by advisement of our attorney at the beginning of the next meeting.”  However, the City maintained “that we were well within our right to go in closed session for the matter we discussed.”  Mayor Thacker acknowledged that the City “will still have to discuss the pay rate and approve during open session which will be done during open session.”  By letter dated June 8, 2015, Mr. Nesteruk initiated this appeal, noting that when the members of the City Commission emerged from the closed session a 5% salary increase for the City Clerk was announced. He argued that stating an error was “unintentional” does not excuse the omission. Attached to his appeal was a copy of the minutes from the May 12 special meeting which, as Mr. Nesteruk observed, state that Mayor Thacker moved to enter into a closed session “to discuss the city clerk’s salary (KRS 61.810[(1)(f))].”² 

        Upon receiving notification of Mr. Nesteruk’s appeal from this office, the City Attorney responded on behalf of his client, in relevant part, as follows:

At the May 12, 2015 meeting the City of Goshen was beginning its budget process for 2015-2016. During the May 12, 2015 meeting, [the] Mayor called for an executive session to address the pay of the clerk, because the Mayor reasonably believed that discussion of the Clerk’s pay would involve a discussion of her job performance and that this discussion should not be done in open session.  The Mayor’s original motion did not cite to the specific KRS cite for discussion that could lead to discipline of an employee, KRS 61.810(1)(f). The City added this specific cite when they approved the minutes of the meeting. 

        The City emphasized that “there was no action on the budget of any kind in this meeting. Another meeting was held to finalize the preliminary budget. This meeting was held on June 1, 2015.”  At that meeting, the City advised, “every line item of the preliminary budget was discussed in regular session, including the pay of the Clerk. . . . Indeed, because the pay of the clerk became such a political issue, upon coming to that line item, a specific motion was made to approve the Clerk’s pay rate.”  The motion carried with a majority vote as reflected in the minutes of that meeting, a copy of which the City Attorney enclosed. On June 8, 2015, the City held another special meeting, “specifically to perform a first reading of the budget ordinance, as it was corrected at the June 1, 2015 meeting.  The second reading and passage of the budget ordinance is now on the agenda for the regular meeting of the City of Goshen, set for the 15th day of June 2015.”  

        The City reiterated in closing that neither the closed session held on May 12 nor the special meeting itself resulted in any “official action.”  No votes were taken aside from the vote to enter into closed session and return to regular session because the May 12 meeting was the City’s “preliminary budget meeting. Nothing happened at the May 12, 2015 meeting.”  Accordingly, in the City’s view, “there can be no miscarriage of justice to correct” from that meeting and, furthermore, the Mayor “had no intent to thwart the [Open Meetings Act] or take any action in secret. Mayor Thacker was innocently trying to find a way to discuss the performance and pay of the city clerk with his Commissioners.”  The City Attorney noted that he “informed the City that discussion of pay in the future should be conducted in open session” and then a motion should be made to enter into closed session, “when and if discussion leads to performance issues that could be the basis of disciplinary action.”  Notwithstanding the intent of the Mayor and the steps taken subsequently to prevent future violations by the City, this office must focus on the admitted failure of the City to comply with mandatory notice requirements codified at KRS 61.815(1) and the discussion which exceeded the narrow scope of KRS 61.810(1)(f).  See 15-OMD-057 (agency’s failure to strictly comply with all statutory notice requirements violated the Act regardless of whether its omission(s) prejudiced the complainant).

Our starting point in analyzing the issues presented is the legislative statement of policy codified at KRS 61.800, declaring that “[t]he General Assembly finds and declares that the basic policy of KRS 61.805 to KRS 61.850 is that the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.810 or otherwise provided by law shall be strictly construed.”  Recognizing that extraordinary circumstances occur which might justify a public agency in conducting public business during a closed session, the General Assembly created a number of exceptions to the general rule codified at KRS 61.800, which are identified at KRS 61.810(1)(a)-(m). To promote the goal of maximizing notice to the public, the General Assembly enacted KRS 61.815(1), pursuant to which: (a) Notice shall be given in regular open meeting of the general nature of the business to be discussed in closed session, the reason for the closed session, and the specific provision of KRS 61.810 authorizing the closed session; (b) Closed sessions may be held only after a motion is made and carried by a majority vote in open, public session; (c) No final action may be taken at a closed session; and (d) No matters may be discussed at a closed session other than those publicly announced prior to convening the closed session.

In construing KRS 61.815, Kentucky’s highest courts have recognized that “’the failure to comply with the strict letter of the law in conducting meetings of a public agency violates the public good.’”  Floyd County Board of Education v. Ratliff, 955 S.W.2d 921, 923 (Ky. 1997), citing E.W. Scripps Co. v. City of Maysville, 790 S.W.2d 450 (Ky. App. 1990). Consequently, “the courts of the Commonwealth [and this office] must narrowly construe and apply the exceptions so as to avoid improper or unauthorized closed, executive or secret meetings.”  Id.  Decisions issued by the Attorney General over the years regarding compliance with KRS 61.815(1) are consistent with Floyd County Board of Education, above. Rejecting the Board’s argument that it had substantially complied with requirements for conducting a closed session, the Court reasoned that “prior to going into an executive session, the public body must state the specific exception contained in the statute which is relied upon in order to permit a secret session. There must be specific and complete notification in the open meeting of any and all topics which are to be discussed[.]”  Id. at 924. Even if the subject discussion(s) had actually been restricted to a topic permissible under KRS 61.810(1)(f) here, any discussions between Commissioners “concerning matters not identified in the open meeting with proper notice [were] a violation of the Open Meetings Act and constitute[d] illegal conduct. Id.  See 06-OMD-211 (lack of any final action relative to general personnel matters improperly discussed in closed session did not mitigate the violation); 08-OMD-040; 14-OMD-091. 

        With regard to application of KRS 61.810(1)(f) specifically, the analysis contained in 12-OMD-102, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is controlling. That exception authorizes public agencies to hold a closed session only for “[d]iscussions or hearings which might lead to appointment, discipline, or dismissal of an individual employee, member, or student. . . . This exception shall not be interpreted to permit discussion of general personnel matters in secret.”  By enacting KRS 61.810(1)(f), the General Assembly “specifically intended to close discussions only of these three subjects due to the potential for reputational damage. Closed session discussions of other matters are expressly precluded by KRS 61.810[(1)(f)].”  OAG 83-415, p. 2; (holding that public agency improperly relied upon KRS 61.810(1)(f) to conduct a closed session for the purpose of discussing an employee’s resignation).

         Applying the foregoing analysis on facts which, in relevant part, mirrored those presented here, in 08-OMD-153 this office found that a city violated the Act “by conducting an unauthorized closed session discussion that could not have led to the ‘appointment, discipline, or dismissal of an individual employee’ when it considered a proposed salary increase for the city clerk.”  08-OMD-153, p. 6. Although possible discipline or dismissal of an employee was a permissible topic of discussion per KRS 61.810(1)(f), this office reasoned, the city “exceeded the scope of permissible discussion when it ventured, ‘no matter how brief[ly],’ onto the topic of the city clerk’s salary increase.”  Id. This office reaches the same conclusion here. See 11-OMD-115 (discussion of salary and benefit package associated with new position was impermissible under KRS 61.810(1)(f), the “personnel exception”); 94-OMD-103; 00-OMD-113; 03-OMD-089; 12-OMD-118.

        A review of this line of authority confirms that a public agency complies with the requirements of KRS 61.815(1)(a) and 61.810(1)(f) by announcing, during open session, the general nature of the business to be discussed in closed session (appointment, discipline, or dismissal of an individual employee(s)/member(s)), the specific reason for the closed session (which of these particular actions is contemplated), and which of the exceptions codified at KRS 61.810 is being invoked (KRS 61.810(1)(f)). 12-OMD-102.  The City violated the Act in failing to comply with all of these requirements. In admittedly discussing a general personnel matter, namely, a salary increase for the City Clerk, the City also “expanded the scope of the [personnel] exception and improperly concealed matters otherwise appropriate to the view of the public[,]” in violation of the Open Meetings Act. Ratliff, above, at 924.  See 10-OMD-100 (discussion of whether to compensate former mayor for unused vacation time was improper).  

        Either party may appeal this decision by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court under 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.

                                                Jack Conway        

                                                Attorney General

                                                Michelle D. Harrison

                                                Assistant Attorney General

#226

Distributed to:

Al Nesteruk

Bobby Thacker

Joyce Morphew

John Singler