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The state’s new Division of Open Government is seeking comments from local officials regarding “proposed alternative notice posting methods” under the revised open meeting law. Comments must be submitted by April 23.
As of July 1, the state’s open meeting law (M.G.L. Ch. 30A, Sect. 19(c)) will require notices of public meetings to be “filed with the municipal clerk and posted in a manner conspicuously visible to the public at all hours in or on the municipal building in which the clerk’s office is located.”
The law does not specify the ways in which cities and towns can satisfy this requirement, though an outdoor, weather-proof bulletin board is one option.
The Division of Open Government reports that many local officials have requested that the attorney general approve alternative notice posting methods as allowed by the open meeting law.
Numerous municipalities have requested that they be permitted to satisfy the “at all hours” requirements by posting their meeting notices on their municipal websites. (Of the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts, 327 have a website.)
Even if the attorney general were to allow website posting of meeting notices to satisfy the “at all hours” requirement, however, many cities and towns would nevertheless need to install outdoor bulletin boards in order to comply with the law, according to the Division of Open Government. Just 62 percent of U.S. households have Internet access in their homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning that public meeting notices posted on a website would be inaccessible for more than one-third of households when the municipal building is closed.
The Division of Open Government’s proposed alternative posting methods would permit municipalities whose meeting notices are otherwise posted in or on the municipal building in which the clerk’s office is located to meet the statutory requirement that the notice be conspicuously visible to the public “at all hours” using one of the following options:
1. Posting notices on the municipal website as well as posting them in or on an alternate municipal building (e.g., police or fire station) where the notice would be visible at all hours
2. Posting notices on cable television as well as posting them in or on an alternate municipal building (e.g., police or fire station) where the notice would be visible at all hours
3. Placing a computer monitor or electronic bulletin board in a door or window of the municipal building in such a manner as to be visible to the public (including the disabled) from outside the building
4. Providing an audio recording of meeting notices, available to the public by telephone at all hours
While posting meeting notices on the Internet alone is not sufficient, municipalities can comply with the revised law if they also post their meeting notices in or on another municipal building, such as a police or fire station, where the notices would be visible to the public at all hours. In the event that a municipality elects this posting method, it will need to post a sign on the municipal building directing the public to the website and the alternate location.
According to the Census Bureau, approximately two-thirds of households have access to cable television, a statistic slightly higher than that for home Internet access. Posting notices on local access cable channels will help further the goal of providing the public with access to meeting notices at all hours, but it is not, in itself, sufficient to meet the requirement of the statute, as one-third of households will be unable to obtain access to this information in this manner, according to the Division of Open Government.
Using cable to post meeting notices will comply with the revised law if the municipality also posts its notices in or on another municipal building, such as a police or fire station, where the notice would be visible to the public at all hours. In the event that a municipality elects this posting method, it will need to post a sign on the municipal building directing the public to the cable television channel and the alternate location.
Several municipalities have requested approval for the use of an electronic bulletin board or outward facing computer monitor that would be visible to the public from the outside of the building. So long as the display is “conspicuously visible to the public at all hours,” the statutory requirements are met, according to the division. Municipalities that elect to provide public access to meeting notices through this method should ensure that the board or monitor is of sufficient size so that the notice contents are readable from the outside of the building, including by those with physical disabilities.
According to the Census Bureau, 99.1 percent of Massachusetts residents have a telephone in their home. Municipalities may comply with the new open meeting law notification requirements by providing the public with an audio recording of the contents of their public meeting notices. This may be accomplished either through a dedicated phone line or telephone PBX system that automatically routes callers to a recording of the contents of the meeting notices (e.g., “press ‘1’ to hear public meeting notices”). This alternative method of notice will be more effective than the manner prescribed by the statute, because it will allow those with neither access to transportation to the municipal building or home Internet access to obtain the information at all hours.
The Division of Open Government proposes to provide municipalities with a range of options that would satisfy the statutory requirement and allow each municipality to select the posting method that is most feasible. Once the municipality selects a posting method, it should inform the Division of Open Government, in writing, of its choice and should inform the division, again in writing, if it changes posting methods in the future.
Comments on the proposed alternatives should be directed to Division Director Robert Nasdor at the Office of Attorney General, One Ashburton Place, 20th floor, Boston, MA 02108, or openmeeting@state.ma.us.