[July 01, 2011] EDITORIAL: Sunshine Law violations / Public means public Tweet Jul 01, 2011 (The Press of Atlantic City - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Recently, Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor notified members of Lower Township Council that they had violated the state Open Public Meetings Act last year by conducting township business via email. In December, council members used email to discuss hiring a township manager. As Taylor pointed out, that meant the public had no notice of the discussion and no opportunity to offer comment. This issue isn't limited to Lower Township, and it's not limited to email. Too often, municipal officials see New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act, first enacted in 1975 and also known as the Sunshine Law, as a hurdle, an obstacle to be overcome. Public bodies still go into closed sessions with vague claims of "personnel matters" rather than following the law's very specific guidelines. In those instances, as in this one, they should know better. How could public officials possibly think that circumventing the intention of the Sunshine Law would be OK, just because they were using a form of communication not specifically mentioned in the law? Here's the part of the editorial where we endorse legislation to close this apparent loophole in the Sunshine Law. Indeed, legislation that spells out that the definition of a public meeting includes discussions using email and other technologies was introduced in the Legislature last year by Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Bergen. So far, the bills are still in committee. But the truth is, that kind of clarification shouldn't be necessary. State lawmakers are constantly chasing technology, updating statutes to catch up with the remarkable advances in communication. But where public meetings are concerned, the spirit of the existing law is clear and easy to follow. All elected officials in the state should know, should take as their first operating principal, that they are elected by the public to do the public's business in public. The exceptions to the Sunshine Law are few, specific and enumerated. Everything else is public business. Officials should not be looking for ways around the law; they should be setting an example by vigorously following it. Voters have a right to expect that their elected representatives will uphold the principle of government transparency. For the record, the state Legislature should take action on those bills, and should regularly look at the Open Meetings Act in light of new technology. Also for the record, it's a shame that's necessary. To see more of The Press of Atlantic City, go to http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]