An Open Meeting Law complaint has been filed against the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT) for allegedly failing to properly employ executive sessions and for failing to post minutes from those closed meetings. The trust discussed the matter—in executive session—at its meeting Monday night.
The complaint, filed by Pinnacle Road resident Steven Hierman, alleges that the trust has failed to make available the minutes from multiple executive sessions held since 2013 within 10 days of request. Hierman also alleges that it is “highly likely that executive-session discussions include topics beyond the scope limited by the Open Meeting Law.”
Selectman Leo Blair—who serves as a voting member of the trust—said the MAHT has been following proper Open Meeting Law procedures. “I do not think there is any reason for concern,” he wrote in an email. “The MAHT only enters into executive session for the express purposes prescribed by law and in accordance with the direction it receives from town counsel.”
According to Emalie Gainey, deputy press secretary at the state attorney general’s office, the Open Meeting Law does not limit the number of times a public body can use executive session, as long as the topic is appropriate and procedures are correctly followed.
Public bodies can discuss up to 10 qualifying topics behind closed doors as long as proper procedure is followed. According to the Open Meeting Law guide found on the attorney general office’s website, that procedure requires the group to open the meeting to the public, state the reason for executive session, state whether the group will reopen the meeting to the public, and take a roll call vote before entering the session.
Recent agendas posted by the MAHT have indicated the intent to go into executive session by following the required procedure and to “consider the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property,” which is one of the 10 allowed uses.
According to Chairman Greg Schmidt, the trust made an executive session decision in December to again place 166 Littleton Road up for sale following a controversial attempt to develop the property as an affordable housing project. Schmidt said that the trust also entered into an executive session in January to choose a realtor and set a selling price for the property.
“As it turns out, we did not have all of the information we needed to make that decision, so the executive session lasted only a few minutes,” Schmidt wrote in an email to the Press prior to the filing of the complaint. He noted that the trust intended to choose the listing agent for the property in executive session at its meeting on Monday this week. (See related article above.) Schmidt wrote that the decision would be available to the public following the meeting.
As indicated in the Open Meeting Law guide, complaints are sent first to the public body within 30 days of an alleged violation. Once the public body receives the complaint, it has 14 business days to respond and state what actions it has taken to resolve issues in the complaint.
The MAHT met with town counsel in executive session on Monday night to review the complaint and write a response. The trust voted to allow Schmidt to sign the letter. That response, along with a copy of the complaint, will then be sent to the attorney general’s office.
In the complaint, Hierman wrote that he wants all members of the trust to “take remedial training” in the Open Meeting Law, disclose all executive session minutes “for which the purpose has been served,” and rescind all executive decisions that were “not validly made.”
If Hierman deems the MAHT’s attempts to resolve his complaint insufficient, he can then send the complaint—along with any additional supporting materials—to the attorney general, who will determine whether or not to open an investigation.
