| OCR Text |
Show Openness in Bountiful probed " By PAUL CHALLIS News Editor . BOUNTIFUL-Council woman Renee Coon is probing into the Open Meetings Law again, this time over advisory committee meetings to make sure Bountiful is abiding by and obeying the rules. "I am concerned that we give the press a proper 24-hour notice and post the committee meetings as mandated by law as we do council meetings," Coon said. "I am not trying to make a stink about it, or bring up the past, I just want to make sure we are obeying the Open Meetings Law." She said she had contacted the Attorney General's Office and spoken to Rick Wyss about committee com-mittee meetings. "He (Wyss) told me that committee com-mittee meetings with three or more elected public officials present falls under the Open Meetings Law re quirements and that the press must notified," she said. "I would like to suggest that all committee meetings be published and posted at city hall." Coon also requested that minutes be taken at the committee meetings so the public could have access to matters discussed by the advisory boards. "A good deal of discussion takes place at these meeting.s and the pablic has a right know about the details," Coon added, citing the re cent garbage discussions in an ad visory committee meeting. Mayor Bob Linnell said, 'Bountiful is in complete conformance confor-mance with the law and I know of no violations. The public is well aware of the actions we take and we do not take any action in those advisory ad-visory meetings." Linnell added that the citizens make their choice each fall in the ballot box when voting for public SEE NOTICE ON A-4 nounce a retreat to the public and of not giving the press 24 hours notice. On Aug. 12, the council failed to hold a retreat that had been planned to be held at the mayor's house because proper notification to the press in advance hadn't been given. Coon refused to attend the retreat and sent a letter to the council voicing voic-ing her concerns that it was "an illegal" il-legal" meeting and her intentions to boycott it. At the Aug. 14 council meeting Linnell and Coon both issued statements about the "illegal retreat and an old-fashioned brouhaha broke out with wild accusations ac-cusations tossed back and forth by the two council members. I At the Aug. 21 meeting the ten- I sion between Coon and Linnell and I other members of the council I reached a new high when the coun- I cilwoman was not allowed to speak I regarding an agenda item. The item I was tabled by a 2-1 vote by the I council. I After the August debacle, a I retreat was finally held on Nov. 7 I from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the City Hall to discuss issues and policies being I confronted by the governing body I of election officials for Bountiful. I Notice " CP WtjUED FROM. A-' . .. : officials and "they put their trust in us." City Manager Tom Hardy agreed that Coon may well be right on the advisory committee meetings but said the city staff is not equipped to handle note-taking at each meeting. "If we take minutes at each meeting it would need to be an expense ex-pense added to the budget and it would spread our secretarial staff thin, leaving some stations unattended," un-attended," he said. "The decision is up to you, the council, and we will act according to your direction, but at this time we are not budgeted to handle it and we have never kept minutes in these meetings in the past" Councilwoman Barbara Holt said she realized that minute-taking isn't budgeted and offered to take notes at the meetings she chairs and sits on. t No formal action was taken by the council and most didn't express an opinion either way. Coon asked for the matter to be investigated further by the city staff and to get back to the governing body. y "Bountiful is already in total compliance, Linnell concluded, "I am comfortable with that mode. ' Last August Coon brought the Open Meetings Law into the picture when she accused the Bountiful Council of failing to properly an- |
