Open Meetings Act

lakeway1 · August 2006

Can a Council dismiss for Executive session if it isn't on the agenda? Can a Council raise and lower specific employees salaries in an executive session?

bcolton · August 2006

It would seem to me that the answer would depend on the law in your particular state. I can answer for Connecticut only.

In Connecticut, a Board can add an item to an agenda and also can add an executive session during the course of the meeting. They do this by approving a change in the agenda. As to salaries, an employee cannot be discusxsed in executive session unles s/he has been notified. The employee does not have a right to be in the executive session but can request that the discussion be held in open session.

atrimble · August 2006

I won't answer for Texas either, but your proposal could be done in closed session where I work only if 1) the employee in question answers only to the Board, and 2) the salary adjustment had to do with a disciplinary measure.

I agree with the other response to a degree. Agenda items can be added, but only before the Council or Board approves the agenda. If they're 30 minutes into the approved-agenda session and decide they want to give someone a raise or demotion but it's not on the agenda, they can't take any action on it, spur of the moment. However, we always reserve a time at the end of the Board meetings to allow commissioners to discuss topics of interest, so they could TALK about doing something, but couldn't actually do it until it gets on the agenda later. Once it gets on the agenda, if the discussion is about one specific employee, then the session MUST be closed to the public. I believe in Missouri, an employee facing discipline in a formal setting like this has a right to hear the evidence against him/her, but does not have a right to hear the deliberation before "sentence" is passed. I think it also has to do with the organizational structure. Our Board has permission to administer the employment of only the CEO; the CEO is empowered by the Board to administer everyone else's employment. Only when one gets fired do we have the opportunity to take an employment issue to the Board.

WT · August 2006

It is always chancy giving advice for another state. I have studied New York State law which most likely differs from what you need. Here, an executive session can be called for by the chairman and voted on in any session. If items are discussed but not acted on, no minutes need be taken. The group can later go to open session to vote on any necessary action. If the group does vote in executive session, minutes must be taken of the vote and the item voted on.

Your state may well have an office of public information on open meetings or the equivalent. I would suggest you call them and get what you need on open meetings for your state.

Open Meetings Act

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