A call to the ethics commission …about the advice of the new Town Attorney’s advice (in previous post) that a commissioner or Board member may e-mail or call another member …by prefacing it with “do not respond”…
that office suggested it was a matter for the Attorney General…
The Commissioner who checked this out…
thinks it is substantially correct…a report…or an opinion piece could be sent to all fellow members as long as they do not respond…
whomever goes first wins!
AGO 01-20 (a one-way email communication from one city council to another, when it does not result in the exchange of council members comments or responses on subjects requiring council action does not constitute a meeting subject to sunshine law. It is however a matter of public record….)
So it seems the advice from Mr Abbott was correct…
so that being said…the next question is….
should members of a commission or board be asked in advance of anything before them…Has any other member of this dais contacted you with their opinion?…If so did they inform you not to respond?…Did you or did you not respond?…
Even if it is allowable…seems murky….with what the possible fallout could be…
having to provide proof if required…
Remember…. Mr Abbott also advised to keep any exchanges made for record….
This is one of those laws that probably brings endless debate….
Tags: Local Politics
