Missing written minutes raise issue of whether Wellington... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

The Post thinks it's found something not right when it comes to a Wellington development review committee's collection of minutes. In many cases, there aren't any stretching back for years. On the face of it, it gives the appearance that the village is not abiding by Sunshine Law requirements. However, this board is made up of staff, entirely and there are no elected or appointed officials on it. Lake Worth has a similar process, as does Palm Beach County and other local governments, for staff review and vetting of development proposals prior to them going to their planning boards and elected officials. After the advisory opinion came out in 2005 (mentioned in the article), the county did some word-smithing changed the name of the "Development Review Committee" to "Development Review Officer." The thinking was that if that group of staff people couldn't discuss a matter outside a public meeting, it couldn't function since staff interaction was part of the review process. Regardless, minutes of these meetings should be kept, the meetings should be open to the public and advertised appropriately.

 “I’ve always thought of minutes as a no-brainer,” said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.

Petersen said the situation in Wellington raises two issues: “Did they violate the Sunshine Law through the failure to take minutes, and have they violated the public records law for failure to retain those minutes?”

State law requires minutes of local government meetings to be kept permanently. Audio recordings of those meetings must be kept for at least two years.

Village Attorney Laurie Cohen declined to comment on the DRC’s missing records but argued the law is unsettled as to whether it is a public board.