Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the
municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and
assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked
the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation.
The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about
20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the
public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
By ordinance our council meetings are required to occur at City Hall or, under certain conditions, some other place within the City.
Jon Miller
City of Mustang
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From: Kim@spadylaw.com Kim@spadylaw.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 7:29:22 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.org oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
Our ordinances require regular meetings me held at Town Hall or other accessible location. No mention of location for special meetings.
On May 4, 2021, at 8:24 PM, Jon Miller jonmiller@jem-pc.com wrote:
By ordinance our council meetings are required to occur at City Hall or, under certain conditions, some other place within the City.
Jon Miller
City of Mustang
Get Outlook for iOS
From: Kim@spadylaw.com Kim@spadylaw.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 7:29:22 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.org oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
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Kim,
As with many things, the OMA sets the general rules, and each Municipality
can fill in the gaps with their own processes. The OMA, at 25 O.S. 303,
merely requires that meetings "be held at specified times and places which
are convenient to the public". No mention of the meeting having to be
within the jurisdictional limits of the public body. 25 O.S. 304 defines
the term "meeting" but similarly does not impose a geographical
restriction. In fact, if the requirement was that a meeting can only be
held that the public body's principal office, then the notice
requirement that you give notice of the location or place of the meeting
would be mere surplus language in the OMA (i.e. if the location was
pre-ordained as having to be at the principal office, then they would just
say that and then you wouldn't have to post the place/location since it
would always be the same). This is further bolstered by the provisions on
continued or reconvened meetings, wherein you are required to announce the
date, time and place of the continued / reconvened meeting. This, itself,
implies that you can change the "place" of the meeting from where it was
originally held.
You could adopt an ordinance (like it sounds like your City/Town has, and
that Jon's has) that required that Regular or all meetings be held at
City/Town Hall. You could also have a Charter provision to that effect. I'm
not sure I'm a fan of that but each community could decide for itself. But
if you held such a meeting in a place other than City/Town Hall, you would
only be violating your ordinances, not the OMA.
Your last question was about posting and whether it would be ok to hold a
meeting off site so long as you posted the required info at City Hall. This
is expressly contemplated (and implicitly authorized) by 25 O.S.
311(A)(9)(a) which states that you have to post your agenda 24 hours in
advance "at the principal office of the public body or at the location of
the meeting if no office exists". For the reasons stated above, you can
hold your meeting at a location other than the location of your
principal office, but the agenda posting has to be at the principal office
location and not the location of the meeting (unless you don't have a
principal office). Also keep in mind that 311(A)(9)(a) is one option for
posting the agenda, and (A)(9)(b) allows you to comply without a physical
posting if you post it on your website.
Matt
On Tue, May 4, 2021 at 7:29 PM Kim@spadylaw.com wrote:
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in
the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient
and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has
asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and
cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the
county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to
the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
--
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Sounds like only regularly scheduled meetings must occur at Town Hall or “other accessible location” and that there would be no prohibition against holding a special meeting at a location outside your jurisdiction. There would be a requirement that the location be open to the public under the Open Meeting Act. However, that could be accomplished in a private business.
Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B
P.O. Box 546
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Telephone: (405) 883-6266
Facsimile: (405) 883-6155
This message is sent by a lawyer and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments. This e-mail is intended for the addressee(s) only, and may not be distributed to any other person without written consent of the sender. Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.
From: Kimberlee Spady Kim@spadylaw.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 8:51 PM
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Our ordinances require regular meetings me held at Town Hall or other accessible location. No mention of location for special meetings.
On May 4, 2021, at 8:24 PM, Jon Miller <jonmiller@jem-pc.commailto:jonmiller@jem-pc.com> wrote:
By ordinance our council meetings are required to occur at City Hall or, under certain conditions, some other place within the City.
Jon Miller
City of Mustang
Get Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef
From: Kim@spadylaw.commailto:Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.commailto:Kim@spadylaw.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 7:29:22 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.orgmailto:oama@lists.imla.org <oama@lists.imla.orgmailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: [Oama] Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
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Thanks for this detailed response, Matt.
I appreciate it!
Kim
From: Matt Love matt.love@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 8:15 AM
To: Kimberlee Spady Kim@spadylaw.com
Cc: OAMA luistserv (OAMA@lists.imla.org) oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Kim,
As with many things, the OMA sets the general rules, and each Municipality can fill in the gaps with their own processes. The OMA, at 25 O.S. 303, merely requires that meetings "be held at specified times and places which are convenient to the public". No mention of the meeting having to be within the jurisdictional limits of the public body. 25 O.S. 304 defines the term "meeting" but similarly does not impose a geographical restriction. In fact, if the requirement was that a meeting can only be held that the public body's principal office, then the notice requirement that you give notice of the location or place of the meeting would be mere surplus language in the OMA (i.e. if the location was pre-ordained as having to be at the principal office, then they would just say that and then you wouldn't have to post the place/location since it would always be the same). This is further bolstered by the provisions on continued or reconvened meetings, wherein you are required to announce the date, time and place of the continued / reconvened meeting. This, itself, implies that you can change the "place" of the meeting from where it was originally held.
You could adopt an ordinance (like it sounds like your City/Town has, and that Jon's has) that required that Regular or all meetings be held at City/Town Hall. You could also have a Charter provision to that effect. I'm not sure I'm a fan of that but each community could decide for itself. But if you held such a meeting in a place other than City/Town Hall, you would only be violating your ordinances, not the OMA.
Your last question was about posting and whether it would be ok to hold a meeting off site so long as you posted the required info at City Hall. This is expressly contemplated (and implicitly authorized) by 25 O.S. 311(A)(9)(a) which states that you have to post your agenda 24 hours in advance "at the principal office of the public body or at the location of the meeting if no office exists". For the reasons stated above, you can hold your meeting at a location other than the location of your principal office, but the agenda posting has to be at the principal office location and not the location of the meeting (unless you don't have a principal office). Also keep in mind that 311(A)(9)(a) is one option for posting the agenda, and (A)(9)(b) allows you to comply without a physical posting if you post it on your website.
Matt
On Tue, May 4, 2021 at 7:29 PM <Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com > wrote:
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
--
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Thanks very much for your help, Jon!
Kim
From: Jon Miller jonmiller@jem-pc.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 9:08 AM
To: Kimberlee Spady Kim@spadylaw.com
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: RE: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Sounds like only regularly scheduled meetings must occur at Town Hall or “other accessible location” and that there would be no prohibition against holding a special meeting at a location outside your jurisdiction. There would be a requirement that the location be open to the public under the Open Meeting Act. However, that could be accomplished in a private business.
Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B
P.O. Box 546
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Telephone: (405) 883-6266
Facsimile: (405) 883-6155
This message is sent by a lawyer and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments. This e-mail is intended for the addressee(s) only, and may not be distributed to any other person without written consent of the sender. Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.
From: Kimberlee Spady <Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 8:51 PM
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org mailto:OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Our ordinances require regular meetings me held at Town Hall or other accessible location. No mention of location for special meetings.
On May 4, 2021, at 8:24 PM, Jon Miller <jonmiller@jem-pc.com mailto:jonmiller@jem-pc.com > wrote:
By ordinance our council meetings are required to occur at City Hall or, under certain conditions, some other place within the City.
Jon Miller
City of Mustang
Get Outlook for iOS https://aka.ms/o0ukef
From: Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 7:29:22 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org >
Subject: [Oama] Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
--
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A city I represented had a meeting at a location that was 50 miles away and upon an investigative audit the state auditor wrote city up in his audit report saying it violated the OMA, since the place was not reasonably convenient for the public.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: This transmission is protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. Sections 2510-2521 and intended to be delivered only to the named addressee(s) This e-mail message is intended only for the personal use of the recipient(s) named above. This message is or may be an attorney-client communication and as such privileged and confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, you may not review, copy or distribute this message. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the original message.
s/ David A. Davis
LAW OFFICE OF DAVID A. DAVIS
4312 N. Classen Blvd.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73118
405 840-6353
405 557-0777 (FAX)
ddavislaw@live.commailto:ddavislaw@live.com
From: Kim@spadylaw.com Kim@spadylaw.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 2:32 PM
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Thanks very much for your help, Jon!
Kim
From: Jon Miller jonmiller@jem-pc.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 9:08 AM
To: Kimberlee Spady Kim@spadylaw.com
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: RE: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Sounds like only regularly scheduled meetings must occur at Town Hall or “other accessible location” and that there would be no prohibition against holding a special meeting at a location outside your jurisdiction. There would be a requirement that the location be open to the public under the Open Meeting Act. However, that could be accomplished in a private business.
Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B
P.O. Box 546
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Telephone: (405) 883-6266
Facsimile: (405) 883-6155
This message is sent by a lawyer and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments. This e-mail is intended for the addressee(s) only, and may not be distributed to any other person without written consent of the sender. Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.
From: Kimberlee Spady <Kim@spadylaw.commailto:Kim@spadylaw.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 8:51 PM
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.orgmailto:OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Our ordinances require regular meetings me held at Town Hall or other accessible location. No mention of location for special meetings.
On May 4, 2021, at 8:24 PM, Jon Miller <jonmiller@jem-pc.commailto:jonmiller@jem-pc.com> wrote:
By ordinance our council meetings are required to occur at City Hall or, under certain conditions, some other place within the City.
Jon Miller
City of Mustang
From: Kim@spadylaw.commailto:Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.commailto:Kim@spadylaw.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 7:29:22 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.orgmailto:oama@lists.imla.org <oama@lists.imla.orgmailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: [Oama] Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
--
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Interesting. Thanks for this information, David. I’ll pass it along to my client when they decide whether to meet away from the municipality.
Kim
From: david davis ddavislaw@live.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 2:43 PM
To: Kim@spadylaw.com
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
A city I represented had a meeting at a location that was 50 miles away and upon an investigative audit the state auditor wrote city up in his audit report saying it violated the OMA, since the place was not reasonably convenient for the public.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: This transmission is protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. Sections 2510-2521 and intended to be delivered only to the named addressee(s) This e-mail message is intended only for the personal use of the recipient(s) named above. This message is or may be an attorney-client communication and as such privileged and confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, you may not review, copy or distribute this message. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the original message.
s/ David A. Davis
LAW OFFICE OF DAVID A. DAVIS
4312 N. Classen Blvd.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73118
405 840-6353
405 557-0777 (FAX)
ddavislaw@live.com mailto:ddavislaw@live.com
From: Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 2:32 PM
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org mailto:OAMA@lists.imla.org <OAMA@lists.imla.org mailto:OAMA@lists.imla.org >
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Thanks very much for your help, Jon!
Kim
From: Jon Miller <jonmiller@jem-pc.com mailto:jonmiller@jem-pc.com >
Sent: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 9:08 AM
To: Kimberlee Spady <Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org mailto:OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: RE: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Sounds like only regularly scheduled meetings must occur at Town Hall or “other accessible location” and that there would be no prohibition against holding a special meeting at a location outside your jurisdiction. There would be a requirement that the location be open to the public under the Open Meeting Act. However, that could be accomplished in a private business.
Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B
P.O. Box 546
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Telephone: (405) 883-6266
Facsimile: (405) 883-6155
This message is sent by a lawyer and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments. This e-mail is intended for the addressee(s) only, and may not be distributed to any other person without written consent of the sender. Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.
From: Kimberlee Spady <Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 8:51 PM
Cc: OAMA@lists.imla.org mailto:OAMA@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
Our ordinances require regular meetings me held at Town Hall or other accessible location. No mention of location for special meetings.
On May 4, 2021, at 8:24 PM, Jon Miller <jonmiller@jem-pc.com mailto:jonmiller@jem-pc.com > wrote:
By ordinance our council meetings are required to occur at City Hall or, under certain conditions, some other place within the City.
Jon Miller
City of Mustang
From: Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 7:29:22 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org >
Subject: [Oama] Meeting Location -Open Meetings Act
I thought I knew the answer to this but am not finding it now.
Is the municipal governing body limited to holding its meetings only in the municipality? Or can they meet elsewhere as long as it is convenient and assessable to the public?
I was thinking the board could meet only in town. A private entity has asked the board to hold a joint meeting to discuss mutual goals and cooperation. The entity wants to meet at its offices, which are in the county seat (about 20 miles away).
As long as the agenda is posted at Town Hall and the meeting is open to the public, would this be permitted by the Open Meetings Act?
Thank you,
Kim Spady
--
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