The following article appeared in the Coast Star, a weekly paper that serves the shore area.  My letter to the Borough, mentioned in the article, is available by clicking here

 

 

John Paff

Somerset, New Jersey

 

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The Coast Star, January 3, 2008

 

Council closed session practices questioned

By Brian O’Keefe

 

A government watchdog recently wrote to the Spring Lake Heights Council, questioning its decision to discuss some subjects in closed session during two meetings in 2007.

 

John Paff, chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project, stated that in his review of closed session resolutions and minutes for the Feb. 12 meetings, he could find no justification for barring the public from discussions about the creation of a personnel policy manual and the use of borough vehicles.

 

Over the past few months, Mr. Paff has been reviewing the practices of numerous municipalities in southern Monmouth County for compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act [OPMA] and the Open Public Records Act [OPRA].

 

He said the brief description of the personnel policy manual discussion that was given in the Feb. 12 minutes gave no indication that specific employees were mentioned. If the discussion was in fact a “general policy matter that is not specific to any particular officer or employee … it ought to have been discussed in public,” Mr. Paff wrote.

 

Borough Administrator Theresa Casagrande said last week she is “certainly considering his topics of suggestion, as will the mayor and council.” However, she added that she is “very comfortable that we’re in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.”

 

On the issue raised by Mr. Paff regarding the personnel policy manual discussion, Ms. Casagrande said it related to a benefit that some borough employees receive. Those individuals were mentioned during the closed meeting, she said, thus legally justifying it as a closed session topic.

 

Mr. Paff also stated the minutes from the Nov. 26 closed meeting did not appear to indicate that a discussion about the “fair and open” and “non-fair and open” professional appointment processes outlined by state law contained anything that necessitated barring the public from hearing the discussion.

 

He said that judging by the minutes, the discussion was not about a particular appointment, but about the general appointment process.

 

Ms. Casagrande said the borough attorney’s contract was a part of that topic, and she scheduled the discussion for closed session because she anticipated that specific names would be mentioned, and because the terms of contracts, including salaries, were involved.

 

She said Mr. Paff’s conclusions about the appropriateness of holding the discussions in closed session may have been due to “probably poorly described or inadequate minutes” for those meetings.

 

Mr. Paff also mentioned a Feb. 12 discussion in closed session regarding the borough’s sex offender residency ordinance, and questioned whether the “anticipated litigation” justification was related to “an actual threat of litigation.” If not, it should have been discussed in open session, Mr. Paff argued.

 

Ms. Casagrande said she was not present during that discussion and was not aware of the specifics.

 

Mr. Paff referenced in his letter the fact that an OPMA “Sunshine Law” statement was apparently not read until the 8 p.m. start of the regular council meeting on Feb. 12, even though the council began meeting in closed session at 6:30 p.m. on that evening and also held a 7:30 p.m. work session.

 

“That procedure “creates a perception that the ‘regular meeting’ (i.e. the meeting that the public is ‘supposed’ to attend) doesn’t start until 8 p.m., and that which goes on during the preceding 90 minutes is something that the council would prefer the public not witness,” Mr. Paff wrote.

 

He said he was concerned the public might “perceive that they are not welcome.”

 

“The public is always welcome,” Ms. Casagrande said, adding that closed sessions are publicly advertised.

 

“Our public can pick and choose what they want to come to,” she said. She said if she were a member of the public, and the council encouraged her to come to the meeting at 6:30 p.m., only to enter closed session and leave her to “sit in an empty room for an hour … you wasted my time — that’s rude.”

 

Although she disagreed with Mr. Paff’s assertions, Ms. Casagrande complimented Mr. Paff on his efforts. “I think he’s doing a public service,” she said.

 

Mr. Paff has requested multiple public records from the borough, and the borough has been prompt in providing those documents, Ms. Casagrande said. “Spring Lake Heights has certainly done an excellent job in that regard,” she said.

 

She added that if any borough practices are found to not be in compliance with OPMA, that lack of compliance is unintentional, and not “of a sinister nature.”

 

“Spring Lake Heights is extremely committed to open government,” said Borough Attorney Frederick C. Raffetto, adding he had not yet thoroughly reviewed Mr. Paff’s letter.

 

“The borough is confident that the borough has complied with both the letter and the spirit of the Open Public Meetings Act,” he said.

 

“I undertook an overhaul of the prior procedures” regarding OPMA,” Mr. Raffetto said of his first months serving the borough after being appointed last January.

 

He added that he reviews all closed session topics with Ms. Casagrande prior to meetings to ensure they are appropriate for closed meetings.

 

“He is a stickler for the Open Public Meetings Act,” Ms. Casagrande said of Mr. Raffetto. “He was very adamant.”

 

If any subject came up during a closed session that was not legally permissible, Mr. Raffetto would correct it immediately, she added.

 

Ms. Casagrande said she plans to put Mr. Paff’s letter on the agenda of the next regular council meeting for discussion. Mr. Raffetto said he will conduct a detailed review of the issues raised by Mr. Paff to report to the council.

 

 

 

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