By Donna Porstner
Staff Writer
January 8, 2007
STAMFORD - A year after the mayor reminded the chairmen of all city boards and commissions that they must follow open government laws, some have yet to comply fully.
Boards generally file agendas with the town and city clerk in advance of meetings as required by law, but some agendas "are not sufficiently descriptive to inform the public of the business being discussed," Assistant Corporation Counsel Michael Toma wrote in a Dec. 29 memo to Mayor Dannel Malloy.
Toma said it's common for boards to list items to be discussed as "old business" or "new business" with no details, which is unacceptable.
Under state law, boards and commissions are required to be specific about what they plan to discuss.
In report cards Toma will send to each panel later this month, he will remind them that they are obligated to be clear about what they plan to discuss so interested people may attend.
The Law Department is having difficulty getting some boards to comply with a state law that requires them to file minutes within seven calendar days of a meeting. Some board members have a misconception that they must approve the minutes at their next meeting before filing them with the town and city clerk, according to the memo. Toma has asked agencies to file draft minutes within seven days and send the final version after the next board meeting.
The report does not specify which boards and commissions violated the law or how often.
Malloy said he does not know how many city boards have violated the law.
Toma said compliance has improved since he reviewed records filed with the town clerk in July and found at least 90 percent of the boards had some violations. He started by doing a spot check, looking at one month of agendas and minutes, and wrote to 15 of the 23 boards with possible FOI violations detailing the deficiencies. Many were late to file minutes of meetings with the clerk's office and did not record individual votes. Some filed minutes after meetings were held but did not provide agendas in advance listing the issues that would be discussed.
The Law Department could not find any agendas or minutes in the clerk's office for one board - the Board of Assessment Appeals, which hears property owner's requests to lower their real estate and motor vehicle assessments.
Board chairmen have shown they want to comply, calling him with questions, Toma said.
"They are expressing an interest in following the law," he said. "They just don't always know how to do that."
The Law Department agreed to review the agendas and meeting minutes of 23 of the city's 40 boards and commissions every six months and report the results to the mayor every Jan. 1 and July 1 as part of a settlement agreement reached with The Advocate in April.
The settlement resolved complaints the newspaper filed against the city's Fire Commission with the state Freedom of Information Commission for failing to file minutes for all of its meetings in 2005 - including one during which firefighters were hired - and for making hiring decisions in an executive session from which the public is barred.
The Fire Commission admitted it failed to record votes on the hiring of entry-level firefighters and make them available for public inspection within 48 hours, as required by state law.
As a condition of the settlement, all five members of the fire commission agreed to attend a seminar on FOI law conducted by the state FOI Commission. They have yet to do so.
The Advocate agreed to withdraw its complaints against the Fire Commission as part of the settlement.
After The Advocate filed the complaints, Malloy sent a two-page memo to the chairmen of dozens of boards and commissions last January explaining how to comply with FOI laws. Those that were not complying rushed to file months - in some cases, years - of records with the town clerk.
Board members are volunteers appointed by the mayor with the approval of the Board of Representatives.
Malloy said he discussed Toma's report at his Cabinet meeting Wednesday and the Law Department appears to be making progress retraining public officials.
"They are on top of it, they are offering training and there is better compliance," the mayor said.
The biggest problem appears to be a failure to list items to be discussed on meeting agendas, Malloy said. He asked Director of Legal Affairs Thomas Cassone to provide model agendas and minutes for panels that are struggling to comply, Malloy said.
"I don't think you are ever going to get 100 percent (compliance) in a six-month-period, but clearly there is more knowledge today about what has to be done than there was six months ago," Malloy said. "It's certainly not an acceptable rate yet, but we're working on it."
Joseph Pisani, senior vice president and editor of The Advocate and Greenwich Time newspapers, said he is pleased the Law Department has begun to monitor boards' performance.
"The law is the law, and we expect every board and commission to be familiar with it and obey it," Pisani said.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.