N.D. Attorney General opinions: Sept. 29 Thursday, September 29, 2022
Request: Did the City of Crosby violate the open meetings and open records laws by failing to provide notice of a special meeting and denying a request for records?
Conclusion: A quorum of the Crosby City Council met and held administrative nuisance hearings prior to the regular City Council meeting on July 12, 2021. The City did not prepare a notice or meeting agenda for the nuisance hearings. No notice was posted at any of the required locations, nor was the newspaper provided notice of this special meeting. Therefore, the City Council violated the open meetings laws.
The requestor asked for various documents including minutes and notes pertaining to the July 12, 2021, administrative hearings. The City provided the requestor with a copy of the ordinance on which the administrative hearings were held but denied other records stating they were protected by attorney client privilege. Some of these records do not meet all three of the requirements for the attorney work product exemption. Therefore, the City Council violated the open records laws.
Read the opinion at: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/sites/ag/files/documents/2022-O-09.pdf
Request: Did the Lewis & Clark Public School Board violate the open meetings laws by failing to provide notice of meetings?
Conclusion: The Lewis & Clark Public School Board received a request from an individual for notice of all future board meetings. A response to that request was sent informing the requestor of the regular schedule of meetings, where the meeting notices are posted, and when the next regular meeting was to take place. Subsequent to this request, the Board held a special meeting and failed to provide notice to the requestor. Therefore, the Board violated the open meetings laws.
Read the opinion at: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/sites/ag/files/documents/2022-O-10.pdf
Request: Did the Lewis & Clark Public School Board violate the open meetings laws by failing to provide notice of meetings?
Conclusion: The Lewis & Clark Public School Board held a special meeting on October 27, 2021. The Board posted notice of this meeting on its website, the main entrance of the school, outside the conference room door, and at numerous other physical locations at the Berthold Public and North Shore schools. The Board also emailed notice of the special meeting to the Minot Daily News. Therefore, the Board complied with the notice requirements and did not violate the open meetings laws.
Read the opinion at: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/sites/ag/files/Legal-Opinions/2022-O-11.pdf
Request: Did the North Prairie Regional Water District violate the open meetings and open records laws by failing to notice a special meeting and failing to provide records within a reasonable time?
Conclusion: The North Prairie Regional Water District Board held a special meeting on November 1, 2021. The Board emailed the special meeting notice to the newspaper and posted the notice on its website. The Board did not violate the law because it complied with the notice requirements for its special meeting.
Two days following the special meeting, requestor asked for copies of the minutes of that meeting. The Board provided the minutes to requestor on December 13, 2021, over a month following the special meeting. Therefore, the Board violated the open records laws.
Read the opinion at: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/sites/ag/files/documents/2022-O-12.pdf
Request: Did the Minot Public School District No. 1 violate the open meetings law by failing to properly notice a committee meeting?
Conclusion: The Minot Public Schools Superintendent established a “Reintegration Committee” pursuant to MPS policy to assist him in developing a plan to address precautions and keep schools as safe as possible. The Reintegration Committee contained no members of the Minot Public School Board. The Reintegration Committee met numerous times and provided information to the School Board over the course of a year. No notices or agendas were prepared or posted for the Reintegration Committee meetings. The Superintendent established the Reintegration Committee as part of his administrative duties without the Minot Public School Board direction or involvement. The same policy under which the Committee was created limited their actions to making recommendations for submission to the Board through the Superintendent. Therefore, the Minot Public School District No. 1 did not violate the open meetings law because the Reintegration Committee does not meet the statutory definition of a governing body.
Read the opinion at: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/sites/ag/files/documents/2022-O-13.pdf