The city of Columbus will appeal a Lowndes Chancery Court decision that found city council members violated state Open Meetings Act to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Chancery Judge Kenneth Burns last month found that the city in 2014 violated the Open Meetings Act when the council split into groups of two or three and discussed city business.
The pre-arranged meetings — each attended by two or three councilmen — took place in January and February 2014. They concerned the city’s retail partnership with the Golden Triangle Development LINK and project management on the Trotter Convention Center renovation. After one of the meetings the city issued a press release indicating a decision had been made prior to conducting a formal vote.
Former Dispatch reporter Nathan Gregory filed a complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission after becoming aware of the meetings.
The Ethics Commission found that the city violated the Open Meetings Act. The city appealed the case to chancery court, arguing that since the gatherings of councilmen did not constitute a quorum — or four council members — the Open Meetings Act did not apply.
Burns, though, ruled against the city.
Councilmen on Tuesday chose to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage declined to comment Tuesday evening.
Turnage previously expressed concern that the ruling could hinder the council’s ability to effectively govern outside official meetings.
“If we follow this ruling to its logical end, the mayor and members of the council will be muzzled between meetings because otherwise they’re in jeopardy of a fine,” Turnage said in a statement issued after Burns’ ruling. “That cannot be how the Legislature intended the Open Meetings Act to work, and it flies in the face of the plain language of the Open Meetings Act.”
However, in his ruling, Burns said that the council deliberately structured meetings to privately discuss public matters.
Burns quoted a 1985 state Supreme Court case that barred certain closed meetings then being held by the state College Board.
“All the deliberative stages of the decision-making process that lead to ‘formation and determination of public policy’ are required to be open to the public.”
The Commercial Dispatch has requested to replace Gregory in the case. Gregory no longer works for the newspaper.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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