Are meetings of the Board of Commissioners open to the public?
Yes. With minor exceptions, all meetings are open to the public and are attended by members of the press. Official minutes and other records relating to actions of the Board of Commissioners are maintained and are open to the public. There are only three issues that the law allows the Board to discuss in a meeting not open to the public. Those are (1) Certain matters relating to specific personnel; (2) Matters involving the acquisition of real estate by the county; and (3) Matters involving threatened, proposed, or on-going litigation or legal negotiations. These issues are allowed to be dealt with other than at a public meeting in order to ensure the privacy of citizens or specified employees. However, any action taken by the Board at such meetings is reported to the public at some point.
