More open government training for Meigs council members

Published 12:53 pm Tuesday, November 22, 2016

MEIGS, Ga. — Going through more than 40 pages, the Meigs City Council went through a training session on the Open Meetings and Records Acts on Monday night — almost a year after a previous training session. 

State Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Colangelo, who specializes on open government laws, conducted the training — the second time in less than a year. 

“We try to just help the people understand what the law requires,” she said to present council members. 

Council members Lizzie Battle, Dorothy Wimes, Cynthia Anderson, and new council member Tommy White were in attendance. Stephanie Battle and Jimmy Layton, the two remaining council members, were absent. 

The training session stems from a violation of the Open Meetings Act in January and Open Records Act violations in July. 

Colangelo gave an anecdote on the importance of open government. 

She described a scenario with children playing and being able to tell everything was OK due to jovial noise. She then told the council members to imagine the children getting quiet and going to check why. 

“That’s how people feel about their government,” Colangelo said. “People have confidence in the government if they know it’s open.” 

Regarding the Open Records Act, the basics of receiving a records request and how to respond were discussed.  

Colangelo also said that council members have an individual responsibility to ensure the city clerk is given any records regarding city business.  

Colangelo told city officials that “even if you’re not voting, it’s still a meeting,” if a quorum, which is four council members per the Meigs’ charter, is present. 

Aspects of a meeting agenda were also discussed. 

“If the agenda is the same every single week, every single month, it is not a good agenda,” Colangelo said. 

Closed sessions were another hot topic. 

The process of going in and out of a closed session, the limitations of what can be discussed behind closed doors, and voting procedures in regards to a closed session were discussed. 

Questions of voting in regards to a closed session were brought up. Mayor Cheryl Walters questioned if there was a specific time during a meeting a closed session must be conducted. 

“The final vote has to be taken in public,” Colangelo said. 

The requirement of notarized affidavits regarding a closed session also was discussed. 

Along with taking part in the training session, the City of Meigs was issued a $1,000 fine. 

The motion to approve the memorandum of understanding for the training session and the fine was unanimously approved at the Oct. 17 council meeting. 

Reporter Jordan Barela can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1826.