YATES CENTER — During a Yates Center City Council meeting conducted Sept. 19, council members voted during an executive session, which is a violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act.
Council members learned during their regular meeting Monday they will have to attend a special training session at 6:30 p.m. next Monday, in order to be taught how they are supposed to conduct meetings in accordance with the KOMA.
The punishment stems from a complaint filed by The Yates Center News with the Woodson County attorney. In the complaint, the newspaper’s publisher and news editor requested the county attorney investigate the council’s action and take appropriate action if the council was deemed to be in violation of the KOMA.
When an elected governing body violates KOMA, penalties for the infraction could include mandated training, a fine of up to $500 for each person involved in the illegal action or both. The Yates Center newspaper only requested training and did not seek a monetary fine for the infraction.
Mayor Les Wilhite read a prepared statement during his comments and admitted the city council “committed a technical violation of KOMA.” He said the training session will be a public meeting.
As for the council’s meeting minutes from the Sept. 19 meeting, Wilhite said the council is not required to change the minutes to reflect the council’s violation of the law. The KOMA only requires that executive sessions and the duration of closed-door meetings are recorded in the meeting minutes and does not mandate that exact times be reflected in the meeting minutes.
The mayor’s comments came after the council conducted three consecutive meetings behind closed doors for 15 minutes each. The council followed the KOMA in scheduling two of the executive sessions on the agenda and conducted all three meetings in accordance with state laws. Councilman Ben Weber asked for third executive session while he was giving a report on the public works committee.
According to the council, the first two executive sessions were called in order to discuss “trade secrets” or “financial affairs.” The first one included two residents of the Buffalo area, Joel Porter and Janice Van Hoozer, as well as the city attorney. The second one included a resident of Yates Center, Theresa Schaede, and the city attorney.
The third executive session was called to discuss issues with the city attorney in privacy because of attorney and client privileges. The city attorney was the only unelected official who was allowed to attend the third closed meeting.
No action was taken after the three closed-door meetings. According to the meeting agenda, at least one of the executive sessions involved a “potential new business” in the city.
Council breaks record law
