My local Public Water Association was recently advised by the Rural Water Association that one of their procedures violated Oklahoma law and had to be discontinued immediately, which the Association did. (It was providing repair and maintenance services that the state requires to be done by a licensed plumber). At the request of the Board, I prepared a public notice to the community advising of the customers that a previously provided service had to be discontinued and explaining why. The notice was posted on the official city website and on the local community bulletin board on Facebook, because of its known local audience. I signed the public notice as the City Attorney, considering that it was a legal issue, rather than a policy or procedure decision by the Board. One of the town residents has complained to the Board that the notification was not signed by the Board members and that he considers it to be ineffective. I can find no legal precedent requiring notification to come from a Board member. While only the Board members can make a policy decision, I do not consider notice that the Board will comply with existing law to be a policy decision requiring a public vote. In my opinion, the Board is obligated to comply with all applicable state regulations, whether they have a stated policy to do so on a particular topic or not. The law is the law, in other words. The complaining party is a frequent critic of all things related to city government and a particular critic of their reliance on outside legal advice. Do any of you have experience with a notification issue like this, and, if so, are you aware of any commentary or decisions that I should consider in advising my Board? Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice. Sharla Sharla J. Frost, Attorney at Law City Attorney, Town of Fort Towson, Oklahoma P.O. Box 35 Fort Towson, OK 74735 cityattorney@forttowson.us 713-882-9053