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Monday, December 1, 2014

Open Meeting Law and withholding Public Records

 The following is a letter posted on FramGov on November 30, 2014 by Town Meeting Member, Jeff Cox.

Greetings Framingham:

I am not a lawyer, but I am interested if the Framingham Board of Selectman may have violated the Open Meeting Law.

      --I have reviewed the minutes of the Board of Selectman meetings  (http://webapps.framinghamma.gov/weblink8/Browse.aspx?startid=35) and noticed that none of the Executive Session minutes have never been posted. I reviewed that the recent controversy in Wayland over publishing of all meeting minutes, as redacted, and noticed that they needed to be published. Is it every appropriate to publish executive sessions? When?

     --I cannot find the meeting that the Board of Selectman approved the proposal of the potential selling of Town Hall published. Where is the motion or resolution?

     --Were the conversation regarding potential selling of town property referred to any town committee or Board of Selectman committee? If not referred, were there private emails or conversations about the potential selling of this property that may be in violation of the Open Meeting Law? How can the potential selling of the Town Hall and other significant meetings be approved without substantial public conversation? If the Open Meeting were potentially violated, would the approved vote be invalid?