Meeting ends with the gavel

The gavel bangs. The meeting is over.
But in the wake of official action, something else happens.
Folks hang around to talk a bit. Maybe they get a snack together. There’s a sense that they’re off duty.
But — inevitably — the talk turns now and then to the public business just discussed. Someone wants to clarify a statement made earlier. Someone has an insight that had escaped them before the gavel was banged on the table.
That’s understandable. It’s human nature.
And as long as these are conversations between one or two people, there’s no problem.
Where the problem arises is when the conversation expands a bit and suddenly there’s a quorum.
At that point, there’s a violation of Indiana’s Open Door Law.
Sure, it’s a casual violation and no official action is going to be taken by the snack table or in the parking lot. But it’s a violation just the same, and it can have the subtle effect of undermining public trust.
Say, for example, that you had taken a concern before a public body. They’d discussed it and perhaps even taken action during the open meeting. But then you learn later that after you went home enough members of that body to qualify as a quorum hung around and re-hashed the issue informally.
Wouldn’t you feel left out of the process?
This isn’t a situation that occurs often, and it’s not something that one particular board or council has a habit of doing.
Just the same, it does happen.
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: When the meeting adjourns, the meeting should truly be adjourned. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]