When I first heard that the city wanted to promote open government by requiring all boards and committees to comply with the Open Meetings Act, I thought it was a good idea --- but after reading the Open Meeting Act, I am convinced that if it is applied to the letter of the law it will guarantee stagnation of the committee process, discourage qualified people from volunteering for these committees and consume hours of the City Attorney’s time advising the boards and committees.

First let me say that there is no requirement to apply the Open Meeting Act to Advisory Boards. In fact the Open Meeting Act specifically exempts Advisory Boards.