An opinion released Monday by North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s office said that part of an executive session the Valley City Commission held in January should have been open to the public.
The opinion was prompted by a request from The Forum, which had asked Stenehjem to determine whether all of the discussion in the closed executive session was reserved to the topic the board cited when it closed that part of a Jan. 22 special meeting.
The board said it was going into executive session to discuss the threat of a lawsuit over a Web site that linked an unsuccessful candidate for the city commission to the Ku Klux Klan and made another candidate look like Adolf Hitler.
City Administrator Dave Johnson was ultimately suspended for two weeks without pay in connection with the Web site.
Stenehjem said in the opinion released Monday that after his office reviewed tapes of the closed meeting, it was concluded the first part of the executive session was legitimate “attorney consultation.”
The last part of the discussion, which involved potential disciplinary action, should have been open to the public, according to the opinion.
Valley City officials have already turned over a redacted transcript of the executive session to The Forum, the opinion said, adding that copies of the transcript or tapes of the open portion of the executive session must be made available at no cost to anyone who wants a copy. Click Here to read AG's Opinion |