Question of the day from a Twitter follower:
"@AmyeBensenhaver is it legal for a majority of a local government to go on an inspection of a vendor's worksite without public notice? Couldn't this be a violation of open meetings act? Are open meetings act laws different for urban county governments?
"Or split into two groups for the sole purpose to avoid a majority? Asking for a friend."
Our answer:
The Open Meetings Act applies to all state & local agencies—regardless of designation. Off-site visits have been addressed by the Attorney General and at least one circuit court but not by the appellate courts. The meetings should be noticed as special meetings and the public should be permitted to attend.
No discussion of public business is permitted on the way to, or returning from, the site if agency members are transported together.
Splitting the public body into two groups would arguably constitute a series of less than quorum meetings held for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of the open meetings law in violation of KRS 61.810(2).