Town Attorney, Police , Town Employees, Board/Commission members attended.
DOES THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (2013 rev.) STILL HELP KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC?  YOU BET IT DOES!  FORMER FIRST SELECTMAN ON HAND APRIL 20, 2015!  AS IS LWV OF WESTON CONVENER.

Who is on the Commission?  Seven people.  And some basic info on the 40 years this compromise, unanimous, first in the country F.O.I.A. does or more likely, doesn't do - this is only for public meetings (what they are, how to conduct them and report on them), not other things such as ethics, etc.  But Mr. Hennick did offer some help there, too!

Is there a summary that is "pocket sized" available any more?  Is the previous "pocket-sized" document still valid?/Yes, and here it is online version!

How has the law, FOIA, changed, and has it changed for the "better" making government more open, since it began (CT was ahead of its time, we think we remember that, post-Watergate)?/Yes, CT and Ella Grasso had the first FOIA after Watergate - here is a "matrix" for summarizing the law as regards meeting notice rules.


     
COMMENTS:
Attendance from P&Z, Conservation, Historic District, Library Board, Assessment Appeals, Finance, Government Access Channel 79, Police Commission, Commission on Aging and press.


Question about subcommittees and reviewing bids.  All in all, a very interesting and informative presentation and useful discussion.

The decision was made after a resident created a disturbance at a Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting on Feb. 26. Robert Adler, of Owenoke Park, confronted ZBA members about the construction of a dormer at his home. Adler claimed his application five years earlier was similar but was rejected.

Prior to the start of Wednesday's ZBA meeting, an executive session was held with First Selectman Gordon Joseloff and Westport Police Chief Al Fiore in attendance.

"We are constantly evaluating," said Joseloff in a telephone interview yesterday morning when asked about the session. "Briefly, we talked about what has been done and what procedures to use in the future."

As it stands now, there will be more of a police presence at meetings in town -- especially at night. Uniformed officers will be "popping in" during the course of Town Hall meetings but not be present all of the time.

After the Feb. 26 incident, Joseloff and other town officials started looking at ways to increase safety at Town Hall meetings.

Officials for both pension boards say their meetings at such places as Bennett's and Morton's steakhouses are not open to the public because sensitive medical information and investment strategy are discussed.  City and state officials say that's irrelevant.

"There is no special provision for pension boards not noticing meetings, not being public, not having agendas, things like that," said Tom Hennick, public education officer for the state Freedom of Information Commission.  The city has four independent pension boards. The certified and custodian boards hold open meetings in the Government Center. They also send copies of their
agendas and meeting minutes to the city clerk's office, where they can be reviewed by the public.  The police and fire pension boards don't file agendas or minutes or open their meetings to the public.

Board of Finance member Joseph Tarzia said the very location of the meetings makes them "secret."

When the state Freedom of Information Act took effect 28 years ago, few could have predicted the degree to which government business would one day be conducted by electronic means.

By using computer e-mails and telephone voice mails, officials can, in effect, skirt state FOI requirements involving public access to records and meetings.

In an important draft ruling, the FOI Commission recently concluded that e-mails and voice mails are public records; that they must be retained; and that the public should be able to see copies of such records. The draft also says that such communications could constitute a "meeting" under state law.