Mayor and City Council v. Commercial Dispatch
2016-CC-00897-SCT
| Miss. | Sep 7, 2017Background
- Columbus Mayor and six-member City Council held four pairs of prearranged, non-social gatherings over two months; each pair split the council into two subquorum groups of three that met separately with the Mayor on the same day and topic.
- Topics: three pairs concerned economic/retail development with Golden Triangle Development Link; the fourth pair concerned renovation/maintenance of a public building.
- Meetings were held in the Mayor’s conference room, were not open to the public, and a reporter was denied access to one set of meetings.
- The Mississippi Ethics Commission found the meetings violated the Open Meetings Act (citing Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-41-1, -3, -5) and ordered compliance.
- The City appealed to the Lowndes County Chancery Court; the chancery court conducted a de novo review, affirmed the Commission, and the City appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
- The Supreme Court affirmed: section 25-41-1 is plain and unambiguous and prearranged, nonsocial, subquorum gatherings intended to circumvent the Act must be open when they involve deliberations that lead to public policy.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Open Meetings Act requires prearranged, nonsocial subquorum gatherings about economic development and public-building maintenance to be open | The Dispatch (plaintiff) argued Section 25-41-1 embodies the spirit of the Act and requires deliberations that lead to public policy be open; the gatherings were intended to circumvent the Act | City argued Section 25-41-1 is only a general statement of policy and that subquorum discussions not constituting a quorum are not covered | Held: Section 25-41-1 is clear; prearranged, nonsocial subquorum gatherings that discuss public business and are aimed to circumvent the Act must be open; City violated the Act |
Key Cases Cited
- Gannett River States Publ’g Corp. v. City of Jackson, 866 So. 2d 462 (Miss. 2004) (standard of review and public-access principles under Open Meetings Act)
- Bd. of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning v. Mississippi Publishers Corp., 478 So. 2d 269 (Miss. 1985) (deliberative stages leading to public policy must be open)
- Hinds County Bd. of Supervisors v. Common Cause of Mississippi, 551 So. 2d 107 (Miss. 1989) (spirit of the Open Meetings Act favors public attendance and observation)
- Conway v. Mississippi State Bd. of Health, 173 So. 2d 412 (Miss. 1965) (statutes plain and unambiguous must be applied as written)