Sunshine in those dark corners…
With the March 20th date for oral arguments at the NH Supreme Court in our Right to Know Law violation lawsuits filed against the Belknap County Convention fast approaching, I noted with great interest a NEW RTK lawsuit against county government here in the Granite State. Much like ours, involves a County Convention wishing to conduct business behind closed doors. Will they never learn? Writing in the NH Union Leader, correspondent Lorna Colquhoun has the details:
A lawsuit threatens to stop work on the $38 million Grafton County House of Corrections.
The suit, filed under the state’s Right-to-Know law by Grafton residents Robert Hull and John Babiarz, contends the vote to approve the jail project came after an illegal "caucus"… [snip]
The lawsuit requests an injunction, which would stop work on the jail. It was prompted by the county delegation meeting held Feb. 11, when the vote was taken on the new jail.
Oh that darned Right to Know Law! Why, without it, politicians could just get the job done as they see fit– without having to bother with us pesky citizens! Anyway, much like what we’ve witnessed here in Belknap County as of late, the UL story reports
The proposal passed by one vote on the second try during a meeting that state Rep. Edmond Gionet, R-Lincoln, characterized as a "circus."
Here’s how it all went down:
To pass, the jail proposal needed a two-thirds majority vote by the 26-member county delegation to pass. The first vote failed, 17-9, and following a 15- to 20-minute recess after that vote, a second try was made and it passed by 18-8.
At issue in Hull’s and Babiarz’s suit is that during that recess, "a quorum of the delegation assembled in a private area to discuss" the vote taken in the previous few minutes.In minutes of the recessed meeting, according to court papers, "it is stated that during this recess, some members moved into a private room to caucus."
Enter the Right to Know Law:
The lawsuit contends members of the public were excluded from what it calls "the caucus meeting" and that there was no written notice posted for that meeting.
"Following the caucus meeting, (delegation Chairman Catherine Mullholland) called the recessed meeting back into order and a vote was taken on a motion" that led to passage of the new county jail.
Hull and Babiarz sought minutes of the caucus, but, according to the lawsuit, were told by Clough, "There are no minutes" for the caucus meeting.
Oops!
They are asking a judge to rule that the county violated the Right-to-Know law "as a consequence of conducting the caucus meeting without preparing and making available minutes of the meeting" and that an order should be issued enjoining the county commissioners from continuing with the plans for the jail.