Resident Files Open Meeting Law Complaint Against Newton Council

NEWTON, MA — A Newton resident has filed an open meeting law complaint against the Newton City Council saying the council added an item to the docket late Friday that was to be discussed Monday night, without due notice.

But the item added to the docket on Friday was for discussion the following Wednesday, not Monday, according to city councilors.

City Council President Susan Albright said the notice was posted properly.

"The City Council deliberation and vote on the repeal and referendum date took place at a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Notice of this meeting was properly posted on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, well within the legally required time frame," she said in a statement Feb. 5. "The City Council along with the City Clerk David Olson are well versed on the state’s Open Meeting Law."

The Open Meeting Law requires that most meetings of public bodies be held in public and that government bodies. It requires that committee meetings be posted 48 hours in advance, not including Saturdays, Sundays and emergencies, should be posted. Newton posts notices on its website and on a bulletin board outside the clerk's office.

The city council is expected to address the complaint in a closed-door executive session Monday night.

Alan Kovacs, who is an attorney, filed the complaint on January 20.

"On Friday, Jan. 3, 2020 at 4:29 p.m., the Newton City Council Docket was revised for the Council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020 by adding an item regarding discussion of the Referendum Petition requesting that the City Council repeal or rescind Council Order #425-18. The notice was not posted 48 business hours prior to the meeting, nor was it posted in a conspicuous manner," his complaint reads.

Kovacs said the late notice "knowingly violated" the Open Meeting Law and is calling for council to nullify their actions taken during that meeting related to the referendum petition and related actions the following Wednesday.

He also is asking the council start over on that and reconvene a meeting - with 48 hours notice - to discuss the referendum recommendation.

Newton City Council agreed on January 20 to hold a citywide vote on March 3 to decide the future of the Northland Development - a 22 acre project slated for Newton Upper Falls. The referendum comes after a group petitioned the city council to rescind their own vote on the project, or put it to the Newton voters.

Councilors were at odds about whether to hold the referendum on March 3, the day of the Democratic Presidential Primaries, or hold it later, possibly on a date where there was no other election, making it more expensive for the city. Read more>Group of Newton Councilors Thwart Vote On Northland.

From the state website:

May a public body consider a topic at a meeting that was not listed in the meeting notice?
Yes, if it is a topic that the chair did not reasonably anticipate 48 hours before the meeting. If a meeting topic is proposed after the meeting notice is posted, the public body is encouraged to update its posting to provide the public with as much notice as possible of what subjects will be discussed during a meeting. Although a public body may consider a topic that was not listed in the meeting notice if unanticipated, the Attorney General strongly encourages public bodies to postpone discussion and action on topics that are controversial or may be of particular interest to the public if those topics were not listed in the meeting notice.
How specific must the listing of topics be in the meeting notice?
The listing of topics must contain enough specificity to give the public an understanding of each topic that will be discussed. It is not sufficient to list broad topic categories, such as "Old Business." For example, when the Chair of a Board of Selectmen reasonably anticipates a discussion about on-going traffic improvement projects in town at the next Board meeting, it would be appropriate for the Chair to list that topic in the notice as: "Discussion of Traffic
Improvement Projects at the intersection of Main and Pleasant Streets; and at the intersection of Elm and Oak Streets." In some instances, there may be overlap in the posting requirements of the Open Meeting Law and other statutes. In most cases, the information required by the controlling statute will satisfy the Open Meeting Law meeting notice requirements, however for specific questions please contact the Division of Open Government.

Previously on Patch:

• Newton To Hold Citywide Vote On Northland Project In March ... (Jan 2020)
• RightSize Newton Files State Complaint Against Mayor (Jan 2020)
• Newton Councilors To Discuss Northland, Possible Referendum (Jan 2020)
• Open Meeting Law Complaint Against Newton City ... (2018)
• Women City Councilors Did Not Violate Open Meeting Law ... (2018)

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).