Bolster Open Meetings Law
 

The Tennessean
Friday, 06/23/06

The law exists so that citizens can monitor government action

The study committee on Tennessee's open meetings law has one more example of why the law should be publicized, strengthened and enforced.

This exhibit is from the Sumner County Board of Equalization. This summer, the board is considering the appeals of property owners who believe their property appraisals are too high. Until this week, landowners who had presented their facts to the board were asked to leave so the board could deliberate. The property owners were informed of the board's decision by mail.

That violates the state's open meeting's law, which requires governmental bodies with few exceptions to keep those meetings open.

This week, the Sumner County board opened its meetings to the public, but other boards in other counties may use the same closed-door approach.

Sumner County board members said they were following the process they had always used. They also said that if property owners were present during the deliberation, their sessions would continue for hours.

Yet the convenience of public officials and the need to keep a meeting short are not excuses for a private meeting. A board may find it necessary to restrict a citizen's ability to comment during the proceeding, but it can't just close the door.

The Sumner County example also underscores a couple of points about the open meetings law. First, the law exists for the benefit of citizens, not journalists. Few reporters, for instance, would deem a meeting of a county equalization board newsworthy. But for the property owners involved, the meetings are extremely crucial.

The other point concerns enforcement. The Sumner County board members didn't know the law applied to them. If officials could be fined for violations, however, you can bet that organizations like the Tennessee Municipal League and the Tennessee County Services Association would inform members about the law's consequences.

The public's business — whether it's deliberation over a city's budget, setting the agenda for a school system or considering a property owner's fair tax — demands to be conducted in public. The sooner the open meetings law is strengthen and enforced, the sooner Tennesseans can have confidence in government.

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Sumner board opens debate of appraisals

The Tennessean
Wednesday, 06/21/06 
Move followed Tennessean story

By ANNE PAINE
Staff Writer

The Sumner County board that decides whether a property appraisal should be lowered after an owner appeals won't be meeting behind closed doors anymore, its chairman said.

The Board of Equalization allowed the public to remain in the room Tuesday after years of private deliberations.

The practice of asking an owner to leave before the members discuss an appeal ended after The Tennessean on Saturday wrote about the process and quoted a state official who said meetings must be open under the state's Sunshine Law.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," Don Spitters, the board's chairman, said after yesterday's meeting.

Spitters said he had expected property owners, who often can be angry, continuing to argue and bogging down the proceedings.

Fifteen minutes are scheduled for each appeal, and it can be an emotional and tense situation because the appraisal is tied to how much owners must pay in property taxes each year.

County boards statewide meet a few weeks each year to consider appeals, and the load is particularly heavy right now in Sumner County, where a property value update has just taken place.

That's also the case in Williamson and Rutherford counties, whose equalization board meetings were already open. Those counties underwent a more detailed level of reappraisal.

Still, Spitters said, carrying out the deliberations and making decisions in the open causes some problems.

"It just puts us on the spot," he said.  Those appealing often are friends or neighbors, Spitters said. •