Did Briefing Violate Sunshine Law?

Sarasota's City Attorney says that the city did not violate state open meeting laws by holding one-on-one briefings with commissioners concerning e-mail spying and improper access to files.

City Auditor and Clerk Pamela Nadalini held one-on-one briefings with each commissioner Thursday, along with a consultant from who performed a forensic investigation into the city's computer files and servers.

The Thursday briefings preceded a meeting where the c to the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

City Attorney Robert Fournier wrote in an e-mail Sunday to that Thursday's meeting acted as a subsitute to agenda back-up materials that the commissioners normally receive before a meeting:

"The individual meetings were used to inform the Commissioners as to the substance of Sylint's findings to date in advance of the special meeting so that they wouldn't be "hit cold" on Friday, that is, hearing the information necessary to make their decision for the first time at the special meeting when the decision was expected to be made.

"The Commissioners were advised of the decision they were going to be asked to make, i.e. whether or not to refer the matter to law enforcement, but were certainly not asked how they were going to vote."

Fournier acknowldged that in certain cases, holding a series of meetings with individual commissioners, in rapid succession, could violate the open meetings act.

"These circumstances would be when an individual present at all of the meetings acts as a conduit to relay comments made by one Commissioner to other Commissioners during the course of the sequential meetings, which would be tantamount to a discussion and therefore a "de facto" Commission meeting; or when Commissioners are "polled" and asked about how they will vote on a pending decision that's the subject of the meetings.

"Having been present at all five meetings with individual Commissioners that were held this past Thursday, I can unequivocally state that no comments were relayed among individual Commissioners and no Commissioner was asked how he or she intended to vote at the special meeting on Friday."

The Herald-Tribune interviewed open meetings expert Barbara Petersen, president of First Amendment Foundation last week, raising questions about the meetings:

"You have a major story in the newspaper pointing out that these people are at each other's throats and someone is probably going to lose their jobs, and you have these meetings in secret?" Peterson said. ...

"Just because they're discussing investigative materials doesn't mean they can close the meeting," Petersen said.

However, Fournier acknowledged at Friday's meeting that regardless of how the commissioners would proceed, there would be a liability for a lawsuit, whether from the public for the city's mishandling of e-mails or a bad system, or by an accussed party.

Sunshine meeting laws do allow closed meetings for matters discussing potential litigation.