{"id":44,"date":"2025-10-08T16:31:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/?p=44"},"modified":"2025-10-08T16:31:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:31:36","slug":"evidence-of-similar-complaints-transparency-issues-locally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/?p=44","title":{"rendered":"Evidence of Similar Complaints &amp; Transparency Issues Locally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Specific Local Examples<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Eastham<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In February 2025, a long-time resident (Tom McNamara) filed an Open Meeting Law (OML) complaint against the Eastham Select Board. The claim was that the chair had privately discussed her vote (on a residential tax exemption) with another board member in a hallway after a meeting, which may have bypassed a public deliberation.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/provincetownindependent.org\/news\/2025\/02\/26\/open-meeting-law-complaint\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Provincetown Independent<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The board discussed the complaint at a subsequent meeting, as required.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/provincetownindependent.org\/news\/2025\/02\/26\/open-meeting-law-complaint\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Provincetown Independent<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Falmouth (School Committee)<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A recent article mentions that the Falmouth School Committee has a\u00a0<strong>pending OML complaint<\/strong>\u00a0related to transparency concerns.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocallens.org\/falmouth-school-committee-faces-allegations-amidst-calls-for-transparency-and-community-engagement\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LocalLens<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While the article doesn\u2019t give full details of the complaint, it underscores that these issues are also arising in school and education bodies, not just select boards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>State-level &amp; Widespread Trend<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2024, the Massachusetts AGO received\u00a0<strong>364 OML complaints<\/strong>\u00a0and issued\u00a0<strong>262 determination letters<\/strong>resolving 347 complaints.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/news\/ag-campbell-announces-record-number-of-decisions-to-enforce-and-ensure-compliance-with-open-meeting-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mass.gov<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In over half (54 %) of the reviewed complaints, the AGO found\u00a0<em>at least one violation<\/em>.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/news\/ag-campbell-announces-record-number-of-decisions-to-enforce-and-ensure-compliance-with-open-meeting-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mass.gov<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Common violations are: notice that\u2019s too vague, insufficient detail in minutes, and deliberations outside of posted meetings.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/news\/ag-campbell-announces-record-number-of-decisions-to-enforce-and-ensure-compliance-with-open-meeting-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mass.gov<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2021, the AGO reported a\u00a0<em>record<\/em>\u00a0number of OML complaints (over 400 in one year).\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/turnto10.com\/news\/local\/massachusetts-open-meeting-law-complaints?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WJAR<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why This Happens Frequently in Cape &amp; Similar Towns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Small boards &amp; informal networks<\/strong>: In small towns, board members often know each other well. It\u2019s easier to slide into communicating \u201coffline\u201d via email or hallway chats, which can cross into \u201cdeliberation\u201d territory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Complex administrative details<\/strong>: Topics like salary, personnel, interim appointments, or contract terms can straddle the line between what must be public and what may be discussed privately.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ambiguous notice rules \/ vague agendas<\/strong>: The Open Meeting Law demands specificity in meeting notices (what topics will be discussed). If boards leave \u201cpersonnel matters\u201d or \u201cother business\u201d too vague, that becomes a frequent target of complaint.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of OML training or awareness<\/strong>: Many local officials are volunteers or part-time, which may mean weaker familiarity with the fine lines of the law. The AGO has responded by ordering more training.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mass.gov\/news\/ag-campbell-announces-record-number-of-decisions-to-enforce-and-ensure-compliance-with-open-meeting-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mass.gov+2KP Law, P.C.+2<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increasing public scrutiny<\/strong>: Residents today are more attuned and more likely to watch videos, request minutes, and spot inconsistencies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specific Local Examples Why This Happens Frequently in Cape &amp; Similar Towns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45,"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions\/45"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notsofastkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}