Town Complies With New Open Meeting Law Requirements

Whether it's 3 a.m. or 1 p.m., residents wondering what boards and commissions are meeting in Lexington in the next 48 hours can now find that information posted and available for viewing 24 hours a day, thanks to changes in the state's Opening Meeting Law which take effect today, July 1.

The law now requires in part that meetings and hearings be posted 48 hours in advance, and that postings be accessible 24 hours a day – not just online, but physically posted somewhere in town.

Lexington has been gearing up for the new Open Meeting Law requirements, and held three training sessions for board and committee members, and one for town staff, with about 80 to 90 people attending, said Town Manager Carl Valente.

"We're working hard to get the information out to people," Valente said.

Complying with the law means a binder with meeting postings will be kept at the Lexington Police Station – the only building in town open 24 hours a day – with the binder available to be viewed by the public inside the station entrance, said Valente.

Posting meetings requires town staff to leave the Town Office Building, walk past the Cary Memorial Building and enter the Police Station each time a meeting needs to be posted. In the near future that process will occur, but Valente said he hopes to eventually find an easier and more accessible way to comply with the law.

One possibility is that when upcoming renovations are done on the Town Office Buildings, a location outside the building may be conceived where meetings could be posted on a bulletin board.

Valente has also talked with a resident who suggests the town have a television screen up, mounted inside or outside the Town Office Building, where meeting postings can be played, and can be updated remotely by computer.

The law also states that a posting is not complete without having specific agenda items listed. When the town posts on its website meetings months or weeks away without agenda items, those will be courtesy postings, Valente said. Physical postings, with specific agenda items, will still need to be given to town officials to post 48 hours in advance.

Valente said the law has good intentions, but the way the requirements interpret the law is poor. It's created an extra burden on staff members and comes without additional time or monetary resources for towns to use as they figure out how to comply.

"We don't think the statute is particularly well written in any of those regards, which is unfortunate because it has good intentions," he said. "But it's not practical or realistic. It will cost us money, I'm not sure yet how much." 

To view the Open Meeting Law regulations that went into effect today, visit this Attorney General's Office website.