March 1998

Compliance Board Hears Salisbury Complaint In an unusual step, the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board traveled to Salisbury March 2 for a conference on complaints of closed meetings by Worcester County and Salisbury officials. It was only the fourth time the 7-year-old board has felt compelled to hold a hearing rather than rule on a complaint solely from documents submitted by both sides. After hearing more than an hour of testimony, the board said it would rule within 30 days. At issue was a series of closed meetings held by a committee composed of two Worcester County Commissioners and two members of the Salisbury City Council, which are considering a merger of the two governments. The Salisbury News and Advertiser, an Independent Newspapers, Inc. publication, complained twice to the board that the meetings should have been open to the public. Anthony W. 'Chip' Bertino, Jr., publisher of the Salisbury weekly, argued that the meetings were legislative matters that were covered by open meetings requirements in the state law. His position was supported by MDDC. The presidents of the two councils replied that the meetings were informal in nature, some of them social rather than business, and designed mostly so that members of the two bodies could get to know each other better. They conceded, however, that some matters of substance were discussed. Future meetings, they indicated, would be open. The Compliance Board was created by the 1991 amendments to the state open meetings law. It is empowered to issue advisory opinions and has no enforcement powers. The majority of complaints come from private citizens rather than the press. It's a cost-free way of convincing public officials to meet in the open without going to court. Back to March 1998 index

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