It's the Law

Georgia Law requires open meetings:

TITLE 50. STATE GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 14. OPEN AND PUBLIC MEETINGS

O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1 (2007)

§ 50-14-1. Meetings to be open to public; limitation on action to contest agency action; recording; notice of time and place; access to minutes; telecommunications conferences

Any actions taken in defiance of these open meeting laws are not binding:

(b) Except as otherwise provided by law, all meetings as defined in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be open to the public. Any resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance, or other official action of an agency adopted, taken, or made at a meeting which is not open to the public as required by this chapter shall not be binding.

That includes zoning, the stick with which the city intends to beat back school overcrowding and traffic congestion.

Also the public must be given timely notice with adequate details:

(d) Every agency shall prescribe the time, place, and dates of regular meetings of the agency. Such information shall be available to the general public and a notice containing such information shall be posted and maintained in a conspicuous place available to the public at the regular meeting place of the agency. Meetings shall be held in accordance with a regular schedule, but nothing in this subsection shall preclude an agency from canceling or postponing any regularly scheduled meeting. Whenever any meeting required to be open to the public is to be held at a time or place other than at the time and place prescribed for regular meetings, the agency shall give due notice thereof. "Due notice" shall be the posting of a written notice for at least 24 hours at the place of regular meetings and giving of written or oral notice at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting to the legal organ in which notices of sheriff's sales are published in the county where regular meetings are held...

(e)(1) Prior to any meeting, the agency holding such meeting shall make available an agenda of all matters expected to come before the agency at such meeting. The agenda shall be available upon request and shall be posted at the meeting site, as far in advance of the meeting as reasonably possible, but shall not be required to be available more than two weeks prior to the meeting and shall be posted, at a minimum, at some time during the two-week period immediately prior to the meeting.

(e)(2) A summary of the subjects acted on and those members present at a meeting of any agency shall be written and made available to the public for inspection within two business days of the adjournment of a meeting of any agency. The minutes of a meeting of any agency shall be promptly recorded and such records shall be open to public inspection once approved as official by the agency, but in no case later than immediately following the next regular meeting of the agency...

One councilman understands the importance of adhering to the letter and spirit of Georgia's Open Meeting laws but also provides us with a telling observation:

"Come this evening at 7 p.m. when five of us are sworn in, we will then be subject to open meetings and everything from that point on will be discussed in the open."

This suggests that much has already been discussed behind closed doors---confirming what we already know from watching the Citizens for Dunwoody.

It is time for these Citizens for Dunwoody who are now officially in charge to realize they are no longer operating a private corporation where secrecy is allowed and that they are now beholding to all the Citizens of Dunwoody including those of us in The Other Dunwoody.

For all our sakes let us hope these leopards can change their spots. If they don't their decisions will not hold up in the court of public opinion and may not survive challenge in Georgia State Courts.

TOD