The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office has found the Montague Board of Zoning Appeals in violation of the state Open Meeting Law due to a late posting of the board’s agenda and a failure to approve meeting minutes in a “timely manner”.
Massachusetts law requires all public boards to post their meeting agendas 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Jeanne Golrick, a Montague resident, filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office alleging the board violated the Open Meeting Law during a March 9 meeting. Golrick’s complaint alleged that the board’s clerk prepared the notice on time, but it was submitted and posted a day late, giving notice for the meeting about 27 hours ahead of the meeting, not the required 48.
Golrick then pointed this out to the board, according to the resolution document provided by the state, and the board proceeded with the meeting anyway. During the next meeting, the board re-voted the two permits it approved during the improper meeting.
The state also found the minutes from this meeting were not approved and posted in a timely manner. The state said in resolution that they did not receive the minutes from either meeting until July, about four months later.
The Attorney General’s Office found the board in violation but said the violation was not intentional. It ordered immediate compliance with the law as well as a review of the training video from the state about meeting notices, and to submit a form to the state when it has done so.
You can reach Miranda Davis at 413-772-0261,
ext. 280 or
mdavis@recorder.com.