By Donna Porstner
Staff Writer
February 3, 2006
STAMFORD -- The Fire Commission's lax record keeping has revealed a system in which some city boards and commissions that make important policy decisions and spend public money are operating in virtual secrecy.
Several panels do not announce what they plan to discuss before meetings or file detailed minutes in the city clerk's office.
After The Advocate filed a Freedom of Information complaint against the Fire Commission for failing to post records of a November meeting at which firefighter candidates were hired, Mayor Dannel Malloy sent a letter Jan. 11 to the chairmen of dozens of boards and commissions reminding them of their obligation to file agendas with the city clerk and take minutes at all meetings.
In the days following, commissions that were not complying with state laws regarding open records rushed to file months -- in some cases, years -- of records documenting meetings.
The Police Commission, which can hire and promote like the Fire Commission, did not file any records in the clerk's office for two years before the mayor's memo. On Jan. 20, the commission filed a one-inch stack of agendas and meeting minutes dating to 2004.
Police Commission Chairman Mark Denham did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The Health Commission, which has taken up to four months to file meeting minutes, immediately submitted records from its September, November and December meetings.
Under the state Freedom of Information Act, records of votes must be made public within 48 hours, and meeting minutes must be available for public inspection within seven days.
Health Commission Chairwoman Kate McCabe said she sought guidance from the city attorney who works with her commission after reading that the Fire Commission was being scrutinized for failing to file agendas and minutes with the city clerk. The requirements came as a surprise to members who attended a presentation on FOI law at their Jan. 19 meeting, McCabe said.
"We have never, as far as I know, filed an agenda in advance," she said. "I think they have always been filed with the minutes."
McCabe said she assumed that anyone who wanted to know something about commission business would look at the minutes in the city clerk's office. Members are not trying to keep things secret -- they just didn't know what the law requires, she said.
The irony, she said, is that "we often talk about how we could get more publicity."
The Health Commission is eager to comply, McCabe said. She sought the Law Department's help without receiving the mayor's memo, which she did not get because the mayor's office did not know she is the chairwoman, she said.
Even when meeting agendas are made public, the items listed are often vague. Some boards say they plan to discuss "personnel matters" or "new business" with no explanation.
Records of the police pension board show it received 27 requests for pensions last year -- 25 for disability pensions and two for retirement pensions -- but it's unclear who they were awarded to or how much each applicant will receive monthly. The applicants are not named on the agenda and there are no minutes on file for any of the board's 12 meetings last year.
Under state law, boards and commissions are supposed to be specific about what they plan to discuss.
Other pension boards, such as the Classified Employees' Retirement Fund board and the Custodian and Mechanic's Retirement Fund board, put the names of retirees applying for pensions and the amount they would receive monthly on the agendas.
The Stamford Housing Authority, on occasion, has announced it will hold meetings in closed, or executive, sessions from which the public is barred without stating what will be discussed, which violates state law. The agenda for its Nov. 29 special meeting, for example, said the Rippowam Corporation and the Taylor Street Housing Corporation planned to hold their annual meetings in executive session but gave no indication what would be discussed.
"It's probably an oversight," said Housing Authority Chairman Courtney Nelthropp, adding it should have said they were going to discuss legal issues regarding the structure of the corporations.
Nelthropp said the Housing Authority often goes into executive session to discuss real estate acquisitions and legal matters, but never takes votes behind closed doors. He said anyone who reviews the minutes filed in the Housing Authority office on Clinton Avenue will see that members come of out executive session before they vote.
"We go overboard to ensure what we do is by the book because there's no reason not to," Nelthropp said.
He said he would have to research whether it's necessary to list on the agenda an issue the commission plans to discuss behind closed doors.
Under FOI law, members must state in open session what they plan to discuss before voting to go into executive session.
The law limits executive sessions to discussions about specific employees, unless the employee requests the meeting to be held in public; real estate acquisitions; strategy and negotiations regarding pending claims and litigation; security; and matters that would disclose a record that is exempt from public view.
Records show the Stamford Golf Authority, which runs Sterling Farms Golf Course, went into executive session Nov. 15 to discuss "holiday bonuses and personnel." The minutes say members accepted "the bonuses as discussed" but do not name the employees who received a bonus or how much of taxpayers' money was spent.
Malloy said boards and commissioners commonly overuse executive sessions because members, who are volunteers, don't know the law limits their use.
"I think if you ask most people, they think you can talk about personnel issues in executive sessions, when in fact personnel issues alone is not sufficient reason," the mayor said. "Even when they are going into executive session, the public should know what they are discussing in executive session."
Some boards provide such sparse information that it's difficult to tell what business they conduct, if any.
It's unclear whether the Board of Ethics held any meetings last year. Its file shows only two letters of correspondence for last year-- an advisory opinion written to an unnamed Board of Education member in September and a complaint filed against a Zoning Board member in November.
The Smith House Board of Directors filed no records with the clerk last year.
Malloy said he does not think boards and commissions are intentionally evading the public. He thinks members do not know the law, which is why he sent the memo, he said.
"I think they are doing their best," he said. "They are volunteers."
Ten of the city's three dozen boards and commissions, including the Planning Board, Zoning Board, Board of Finance and the Personnel Commission, post their agendas and meeting minutes on the city's Web site, www.cityofstamford.org, though some do not post minutes until several weeks after the meeting. The Board of Representatives has its own Web site, www.boardofreps.org, that lists coming meetings and offers detailed committee reports.
Director of Legal Affairs Thomas Cassone said he will answer any questions board members have about FOI law. But there is no formal way to track which boards and commissions comply, he said.
"We don't have a freedom of information compliance officer," Cassone said. "We tell them to comply and we hope that they do."
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.