Public and Nonpublic Meetings

     There was a Concerned Citizen Issue filed on June 12, 2011 by Sandra Coleman concerning a non-public meeting of the Board of Selectmen that was improperly called on June 1, 2011.  The Board of Selectmen posted the notice of a non-public meeting; however, according to RSA 91-A3, "No public body may enter nonpublic session, except pursuant to a motion properly made and seconded."  This means that a non-public meeting can only be called during a public meeting since a motion must be made and the reason for entering a non-public session given.  The intent of this law is to ensure open and transparent government.
     There are two problems connected to this case.  The first is that those members of the public wishing to attend the meeting may have been discouraged because it was posted that the meeting was non-public. Second, the employee who was to be reviewed in the non-pubic session had the right to request that the meeting be public, but the attendance may have been limited because the meeting was improperly posted.
     By improperly posting the meeting as nonpublic, the Ashland Board of Selectmen infringed on the rights of the employee to have the public present at the meeting as well as the public's right to know. 
     The Board of Selectmen posted the notice of the meeting in three places in town.  It would be helpful to residents if notices of unscheduled meetings were also posted on the Town Website and given to the Town Administrator to put in the Town Bulletin or send out in the InfoBlast.