|
|
|
|
The League of Women Voters of Fairfield |
|
Know Your Rights
To Open Government
In Fairfield
Prepared by the League of Women Voters of Fairfield, CT
“popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps, both”. James Madison August 4, 1822
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW: Enacted in 1966, the Federal Freedom of Information Law assures the public and press access to government documents by requiring federal agencies to release their records to the public upon request (with some exceptions for national security information and certain other issues). All fifty states have similar laws for state and local meetings and access to records. Connecticut passed its law in 1975. The full text can be found in The Connecticut General Statues, Chapter XIV. Any reference below to boards is intended to include official town boards, commissions, committees, and subcommittees.
FOI REGULATIONS
Openness & Notices: For those attending meetings of Fairfield boards, here are some basics about how they operate.
Meetings, hearings, etc must be open to the public except in limited situations. Exceptions include caucuses, chance or social gatherings not intended to relate to official business, and collective bargaining strategy and negotiating sessions. You can attend open meetings. No registration, sign-in or identification can be required of public attendees, other than a speakers’ sign-up list when applicable. The public can record, photograph or videotape meetings, subject to prior reasonable rules for non-interference with the conduct of the meeting.
Three kinds of meetings are recognized under the FOI Act: regular, special and emergency. Boards must file a schedule of regular meetings each year with the Town Clerk. Regular meetings may be monthly, twice a month or as determined by the board. In Fairfield they are posted on a calendar in the Town Clerk’s office and are listed on the official town website. The RTM and some boards, including Town Plan and Zoning, Zoning Board Of Appeals, and Conservation Commission / Inland Wetland Agency publish notices of their hearings in at least one of the local papers. By making a written request to a board, you can receive notices of its meetings at least one week prior to the meeting date (where practical). A reasonable fee for this service may be charged.
Special meetings can be called up to 24 hours (excluding weekends, holidays, etc.) in advance. The board files notice of the time, place and business of the special meeting with the Town Clerk. Emergency meetings can be held without these requirements.
Agendas: Each board must file an agenda with the Town Clerk for each regular meeting at least 24 hours in advance; it may appear on the town website. New agenda items can be added only on a 2/3rd vote of the board members. Agendas for open meetings may include time for the public to speak.
Minutes: Drafts of meeting minutes must be available to the public on the town website and at the Town Clerk’s office within 7 days of the meeting. Minutes for emergency meetings must include the reason for the emergency and must be filed with the Town Clerk within 72 hours (excluding weekends and holidays.) Votes of each member on any issue must be included in meeting minutes and must also be made available to the public within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). They should be available at the office of the board in question, if it has one, or at the Town Clerk’s office.
Closed-Executive Sessions: A board may close certain segments of its meetings by a 2/3rds vote of board members present. Minutes of an open meeting in which a closed-executive session occurs must indicate all persons who were in attendance at the closed session, except for job applicants who were interviewed. Closed sessions can be held only for a limited number of reasons, which should be listed on the agenda and must be stated in public before the vote takes place. Permissible reasons include: personnel issues (unless the employee concerned requests that the discussions be open to the public); strategy and negotiations regarding pending claims and litigation; security matters; real estate acquisition (if openness might increase price); and any matter that would result in disclosure of a public record exempted from disclosure requirements for public records.
Records: With certain limited exceptions you have the right to obtain records of public agencies -- Fairfield departments, boards, commissions and authorities and their committees. Records specifically exempted from disclosure to the public by federal law or state statute are not available to the public. In addition, the following records may not be available: some preliminary drafts or notes; personnel or medical files; records relating to pending claims and litigation; trade secrets and certain commercial or financial information; real estate appraisals and construction contracts until all of the property has been acquired; records relating to collective bargaining; election, primary, referenda and town meeting petition pages, until certified; personal financial data required by a licensing agency; information obtained by illegal means; and tax returns and communications privileged by the attorney-client relationship.
You may inspect public records during regular office hours of the agency. Copies, print-outs or transcripts should be requested in writing. Specifically, agendas and minutes of public meetings can be viewed on the town website and at the Office of the Town Clerk. The fee for a copy of a public record cannot exceed 50¢ per page. The fee for a computer disk, tape, printout or for a transcript, or a copy thereof, cannot exceed the actual cost to the agency. Prepayment of the fee may be required if the estimated cost is $10.00 or more. No sales tax can be imposed. The agency is required to waive any fee for copies if the requester cannot afford it or if the agency determines that the request benefits the public welfare. There is an additional charge for certified copies.
You are entitled to prompt access to inspect or copy public records. If an agency fails to acknowledge your request within four business days, that failure can be treated as a denial of the request. This does not mean the copies must be available within four days. If the estimated effort and time required for retrieval is significant enough to negatively affect the agency’s functioning, the agency will work with you, suggesting ways to narrow your search criteria and providing a doable time line for honoring your request. (From the Town Website: “Town Meeting records date back to 1661. In those days, the issues involved conflicts between land use or crops versus animals.”)
FOI ENFORCEMENT: If you feel you have been denied any right to which you are entitled by the FOI Act, you may appeal. However, there are several ways to resolve conflicts short of appealing. You can discuss the complaint with the Assistant Town Attorney, who has been certified as the FOI Liaison. The Liaison cannot issue a decision but can often help resolve the complaint without a formal appeal.
You can also seek redress from the Freedom of Information Commission in Hartford, which can answer any questions you have about your rights and provide information as to how to make an appeal. You do not need to hire a lawyer but, generally, you must appeal within 30 days of the denial of any FOI rights. There is no special form needed, just a written statement of all relevant facts and a request for a hearing. If attempts to resolve the complaint are not achieved by staff, the appeal will proceed to a hearing conducted by one of the five Commissioners or a staff member. After the hearing, the hearing officer will prepare a complete report including findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a recommended order. However, this recommendation is not final until the full Commission adopts it. The law also allows for appeals by either party from Commission decisions. Further information is available in the Citizen’s Guide on the CT FOI website.
CONCLUSION: While the FOI Acts do not address meeting protocol, the spirit of the law suggests that boards and attendees from the public speak with clarity, civility, brevity, and relevancy. And it is the responsibility of all -- boards and public -- to speak loud enough to be heard by all present with or without microphones. FOI law empowers citizens to play an active role in their government and gives them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger. The Town of Fairfield -- with its large RTM and its many boards, commissions, committees and subcommittees -- provides its citizens with an extraordinary number of opportunities to participate in open government whether as an elected or appointed official, a volunteer or an observer.
As James Madison said: “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan political organization, open to men and women, that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. lwvfairfield@lwvct.org
INFORMATION SOURCES
____________________________________
Office Of The Town Clerk
Old Town Hall, 611 Post Road
203 256-3090
www.fairfieldct.org/townclerk.htm
Agendas, Minutes, Town Charter
Official Town Meeting Calendar
FOI Information Inquiries
Records
Officials, Boards & Commissions 2010
Booklet of Elected and Appointed
Officials, Calendar
of Meetings and
Information Directory
____________________________________
Fairfield Town Website
www.fairfieldct.org
Agendas, Minutes, Meeting Notices
Officials, Services, Town Calendar
____________________________________
Assistant Town Attorney
Old Town Hall, 611 Post Road
203 256 3189
FOI Information Inquiries & Complaints
____________________________________
6/2010