Westwood Officials Ready for Changes to Open Meeting Law

Things are about to get a little easier for Westwood residents looking for access to information regarding town meetings and agendas.

Changes to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law (Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2009), effective July 1, now require that all open town meetings be publicized to the public 48 hours prior to a meeting.

"It also affects meetings and what kind of information needs to be kept," said Westwood Town Clerk Dottie Powers. "Now we have to keep everything together, so if everyone wants to come in and look, they're able to come in and look at any documents."

Westwood posts a vast majority of updated information on the town's official website. But with the changes to the Open Meeting Law, notices and agendas for meetings need to be accessible and visible 24 hours a day, not just online, but also at the town's municipal buildings.

"What we're going to do here is just post the notices on the glass of the inside lobby so that it's visible," Powers said. "And we're also really going to keep a diligent effort for all department heads to update on the computer."

But while the information might be easier for the public to access, it hasn't necessarily been easy for town officials.

"It's more work," Powers said, who added that the law originally recommended that towns should have a bulletin board outside the municipal buildings.

"But as an alternative method we can post everything inside," she said.

Still, officials have been preparing for things in advance and are on top of things, Powers said.

"For the most part everybody's good about what they need to do anyways, and it's one more step for us," she said. "Other than that, I don't find it too difficult here. We're able to keep up with it."

Here are the top 10 changes to the Open Meeting Law:

1. New requirements for certifications and other documentation to keep on file – may fall to City/Town Clerks to maintain.
2. Forty-eight Hour Notice: still required, but cannot count Saturdays, Sundays or Holidays. For example, a Monday night meeting must be posted before Thursday night.
3. Notices must comply with the following:
   1. Include a list of topics the chairperson reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting (i.e., the agenda).
   2. Be posted in or on the municipal building or town hall for public viewing at all hours.
4. Emails are expressly included in the definition of "deliberation" (this must be in open session), but distribution of agendas, scheduling information or reports to be discussed at the next meeting is permitted.
5. Attendance by a quorum at a location is not considered a "meeting" if it is not intended to conduct business and/or no deliberation occurs. For example, attending a conference, social event, or a meeting of another municipal board or committee. It is not required to post this information.
6. Meeting minutes must contain more detailed information. In addition to the date, place, time and matters discussed during a meeting, the minutes must now included summaries of matters discussed, a list of documents used, and all decisions that were made or votes that were taken.
7. Minutes must also include "documents and other exhibits, such as photographs, recordings or maps, used by the body at an open or executive session hall, along with the minutes, and be part of the official record of the session."
8. Remote participation, by conference call, audio or video conferencing, will most likely be allowed by regulation or letter ruling of the Attorney General. A chairperson or quorum needs to be in the room at the time, and a vice-chairperson must be elected for the night.
9. Anyone serving on a public board or committee must receive a copy of Open Meeting Law and related regulations and submit certification to City or Town Clerks.
10. Citizens making complaints against Open Meeting Law violations must file a written complaint with the governmental body first. The body then submits replies to the complainant and the Attorney General's office. The board has 30 days to respond to a party making a complaint.