AG Wrigley finds Billings County Commission violated open meetings laws

DICKINSON, N.D. — North Dakota Lawyer Normal Drew Wrigley introduced Thursday, Dec. 22, that the Billings County County Fee violated open conferences legal guidelines. The opinion stemmed from a sequence of conferences that passed off in September 2021, relating to a contentious bridge venture.

In accordance with Wrigley, three Billings County commissioners held personal conferences with Invoice Panos, who was director of the North Dakota Division of Transportation, and Billings County State’s Lawyer H. Patrick Weir.

The personal conferences raised considerations with some residents of Billings County, who upon studying of the conferences believed them to be scheduled as a method to meet with Panos with out being in an official quorum or on the document, in keeping with an announcement launched by the AG.

“The Fee expressed no intent to avoid the open conferences legal guidelines; nonetheless, intent is just not a requirement,” Wrigley concluded in an electronic mail summarizing his opinion. “The Fee did purposefully meet, collectively involving a quorum, so as to focus on public enterprise. Subsequently, the Billings County Fee violated open conferences legal guidelines when it failed to supply discover of such conferences to the general public.”

Panos has since resigned from the NDDOT.

Wrigley’s opinion factors to the statute which specifies a sequence of small conferences that collectively includes a quorum, the place a particular topic of public enterprise is being mentioned. In accordance with this statute, such conferences are thought-about a proper assembly that’s topic to open assembly legal guidelines.

Weir, reacting to the findings from the Lawyer Normal’s Workplace, informed The Dickinson Press that he respectfully disagrees with Wrigley’s opinion.

“I believe he is reached the mistaken conclusion,” Weir mentioned. “I used to be beneath the impression, and I nonetheless am as a matter of reality, that so long as there is no pre-concerted program to succeed in a end result earlier than the open assembly, then particular person conferences with Panos the place acceptable.”

The conferences that led to the violation had been, in keeping with Weir and Commissioners, meant to assemble details about a controversial venture that sought to construct a bridge over the Little Missouri River in a distant a part of the Badlands. Billings County Commissioners supported the venture, but it surely was deserted after mounting political backlash from landowners objecting to the method of eminent area and the following widespread media protection.

Weir mentioned he would love Wrigley’s opinion on the violation to make clear a timeline for the circumstances of a quorum to be met when commissioners meet individually.

“In my written response, I mentioned it’s a must to reply the query of at what time limit is it unlawful for 2 commissioners to ask questions on the identical material?” Weir mentioned. “What they do not reply is the temporal query. In different phrases, how a lot time has to elapse if Commissioner A met with Panos individually on sooner or later? Wouldn’t it be improper for Commissioner B to name them up on the subsequent day? Or meet with him in individual? After which that is a quorum. Does that make it an unlawful assembly violating the open information legal guidelines? The online results of this, it should make it not possible for small counties to have three-member commissions. I imply, these folks volunteer, they get elected. They want data, clearly, on technical questions.”

Weir argued that the person conferences had been held as a result of Panos wouldn’t be out there in the course of the frequently scheduled fee assembly which was slated for days later. He added giving discover of a particular assembly would have prevented the violation, although he didn’t consider it was needed on the time.

Wrigley’s opinion advisable commissioners treatment the violation by drafting minutes of the conferences with Panos and offering them to Jim Fuglie and Elizabeth Loos, who requested Wrigley’s opinion on the matter, together with anyone else who requested such data freed from cost. Wrigley additional stipulated that failure to take these corrective measures inside seven days will lead to prices, disbursements and lawyer charges.

“It might additionally lead to private legal responsibility for the individual or individuals liable for the noncompliance,” Wrigley acknowledged within the opinion.

Weir mentioned Billings County will adjust to the suggestions, including the treatment is already out there.

“I had them meet individually with Mr. Panos after which, two days later, we had an open assembly,” Weir mentioned. “I had every of them state on the document what they mentioned with Invoice Panos. So I imply, the treatment is out there on the open fee assembly which was held a number of days after the personal assembly every of the commissioners had with Panos.”

All three Billings County Commissioners, Lester Iverson, Dean Rodne and Steve Klym — who wasn’t a commissioner on the time of the violation — declined to touch upon the matter.