Board Scolded by Attorney General for Potential Sunshine Law Violation
AG also offers the Board free training
On September 11, 2023, the Willard Board of Aldermen held a meeting at which they appointed Donna Stewart as interim city administrator without properly notifying the public (or then-mayor Sam Snider) of their intent to do so. I wrote about that questionable appointment here.
Subsequently, then-mayor Snider fired the appointee—an act not allowed under state statute without Board approval. Then the Board rehired Ms. Stewart and censured the mayor for having fired her. Soon after, the Board filed articles of impeachment against the mayor. Mayor Snider later resigned on October 26, a few hours before his impeachment hearing.
At least one citizen complained to the Missouri Attorney General’s office about the manner in which the appointment was made.
On December 4, the Attorney General issued the City a letter of warning:
Our office has serious concerns about the composition of the City's tentative agenda, particularly when it comes to matters of serious public importance, such as the expenditure of public funds and the appointment of an interim city administrator. Adherence to the Sunshine Law's requirements of transparency is necessary for City residents to be able to attend City public meetings and know what its representatives are discussing and deciding.
The Attorney General continued:
Given that this is the first potential violation of the Sunshine Law brought to our office's attention as far as we can tell, the Attorney General's Office is prepared to close this complaint under the condition that the City agree to undergo Sunshine Law training by the Attorney General's Office in the near future. The training will be provided at no cost to the City or to its taxpayers. We also reserve the right to reconsider this resolution decision if future violations are brought to our office's attention.
The Board should strongly consider agreeing to the Attorney General’s offer, because the September 11 incident isn’t the only time they’ve been observed violating the Sunshine Law. In the Missouri Revised Statutes, section 610.027 provides specific consequences for each violation:
“Knowing” violations may result in civil fines up to $1,000.00, plus court costs and attorneys' fees. “Purposeful” violations may result in civil fines up to $5,000.00, plus court costs and attorneys' fees.
Sunshine Law violations don’t come cheap, and my guess would be that an audit conducted by the State Auditor’s office would uncover additional violations from the Board’s past open and closed sessions. It would be better for the Board to get that training in now and get transparency back on track before a state audit occurs.
A copy of the AG’s letter:
