From the Fairfield Township Flare
| February 10, 2013 |
Fairfield Township trustees have not permitted verbal public comments at its recent meetings and trustees say the policy will stay that way for the foreseeable future. This has been the case since May 2012. The trustees may be following the letter of the law, but they are clearly missing the boat on following the spirit of the law as described in the Ohio Code in the Ohio Open Meetings Act.
Ohio has an Open Meetings Act, sometimes referred to as the Sunshine Laws, codified in Revised Code section 121.22. This statute applies to meetings of the Board of Trustees of a township – as well as other public bodies. The text of that statute does not grant the public the right to comment or participate in public meetings. Consequently, every Ohio court which has considered the question has concluded that Ohio law does not require a public body to provide the public with an opportunity to comment at its meetings. The rationale is that these meetings are business meetings and that is the primary purpose.
Butler County Truth 