Our View – Conducting 'public' business

By Staff
When in doubt about an issue, you go to the authority on the matter.
So before we discuss Monday night's Red Bay City Council meeting, let's review a section of Alabama code.
According to the website www.alacog.org/apal2.html, which outlines Public Access Laws, Alabama Code statute 13A-14-2 states the following:
a. "No executive or secret session shall be held by any of the following named boards, commissions or courts of Alabama, namely: Alabama Public Service Commission; school commissions of Alabama; board of adjustment; state of county tax commissions; any county commission, any city commission or municipal council; or any other body, board or commission in the state charged with the duty of disbursing any funds belonging to the state, county or municipality, or board, body or commission to which is delegated any legislative or judicial function; except, that executive or secret sessions may be held by any of the above named boards or commissions when the character or good name of a woman or man is involved. (b) Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $500 .
The website also states: The courts have held that public access to public bodies generally extends to the entire decision-making process from discussion or debate and formulation through adoption and enforcement; otherwise public meetings could be held only to ratify decisions made in secret. Dale v. Birming-ham News Co., 452 So. 2d 1321 (Ala. 1984).
3. No Secret Meetings are Ever Required: The Sunshine Law does not require executive sessions under any circumstances. Public boards or bodies can elect to conduct public meetings even when character and good name or legal business is being discussed without violating the Alabama Sunshine Law.
The way we read that law, the Red Bay City Council clearly violated Alabama Sunshine Law Monday night by going into executive session to discuss giving a raise to city employees.
No "good name and character" issues should be relevant when discussing the amount of a proposed raise or when the raise should be dispersed.
This is taxpayer money we're talking about, dispersed by a body elected by the citizens of Red Bay. And as an old saying goes, those who have nothing to hide, hide nothing.
Citizens of Red Bay deserve to have their business, especially concerning their money, conducted in public.
Public bodies have hid behind the "good name and character" clause far too often in discussing things that would be best discussed in public. If that is the case here, we advise the council to meet in public whenever possible, and that certainly would apply here.
These types of executive sessions are not allowed by law, and should not be the practice of this newly-elected council.