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Rec board has rules to follow
Last Updated: October 11, 2018

The Kansas Open Meetings Act is designed to shine light on governments doing the public's business.

Though the intent of the law is openness and transparency, requiring public discourse of all public matters, it does provide exceptions.

Among them are non-elected personnel, attorney-client discussions, employer-employee negotiations, confidential data or trade secrets of corporations, security matters and preliminary discussions of land acquisitions. If issues pertain to these areas, governing bodies are allowed to call for an executive session.

Nowhere on the list of exceptions is "an audit request."

Yet, that's exactly what the Valley Center Recreation Commission board of directors used as an excuse to close its Oct. 8 meeting for about 20 minutes.

It's a clear violation of not only the intent of the Kansas Open Meetings Act, but the letter of it as well.

When a board member was asked why the board saw a need for an executive session to discuss an audit request, he refused to comment.

Last month, the Valley Center school district requested an audit be performed on the recreation commission's finances. The rec commission's board was trying to decide how to respond.

That's what the board apparently discussed in the closed-door session, because a motion and vote were made immediately following the private meeting.

We understand that it's a potentially thorny issue. But that's no reason to bar the public from witnessing the deliberations.

The rec commission board is an all-volunteer group of people who are not directly elected by the public. However, that does not absolve them of following the applicable meeting and records laws.

We don't advocate for punishment. Instead, we encourage rec board members to seek guidance and training on the rules they must follow.

— The Ark Valley News




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