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From a best practices standpoint, inappropriate involvement in personnel matters can <br />effectively destroy the chain of command. While most municipal offices are not operated <br />according to a military -style chain of command, some version of a chain of command <br />is critical for effective functioning no matter how large, small, formal, or informal your <br />operations are. Once you allow inappropriate involvement to occur, you have effectively <br />disempowered managers and supervisors throughout the organization, and sent the <br />message that employees are free to disregard the chain of command. <br />Personnel matters are also a high -risk liability area. The more you're personally involved, <br />the more likely it is that your name may some day appear on the wrong end of a lawsuit, <br />or come up in an executive session where your fellow members are assessing the risks <br />your conduct has created. So, you can see that honoring the allocation of responsibilities <br />by staying out of most personnel matters is a means of avoiding or reducing liability. <br />Honoring Transparency in Meetings <br />In local government, transparency of the governing body in its discussions and decisions <br />is a basic expectation of the citizenry. Citizens take great interest in the goings-on of the <br />governing body, and are quick to notice when their transparency expectations are not <br />met. A perception that governing body members are conducting discussions secretly, that <br />executive sessions are being held for improper purposes, or that decisions are being made <br />in "smoke -filled back rooms;' can quickly erode trust and confidence in government. <br />Transparency in meetings means that governing body meetings are open to the public <br />and held only after proper public notice, that executive sessions are strictly limited to the <br />purposes authorized by law, and that discussions of public issues take place in a meeting <br />setting rather than by email or in hidden locations. Is this part of your oath? Most <br />certainly! The statewide open meetings law applies to all local public bodies, including city <br />councils and boards of trustees. If you're a home rule municipality, there may be charter <br />provisions concerning transparency as well. <br />Is honoring transparency in governing body meetings a best practice? It is, if you want <br />to maintain the public's confidence and trust! Citizens expect and appreciate your body's <br />commitment to discussing and deciding difficult issues with full transparency. And <br />making a commitment to transparency can also help ensure that your municipality doesn't <br />become Exhibit A in an effort to make draconian changes to the open meetings law. You <br />surely don't want to be held up as a bad example in the legislature. It's happened. <br />Is honoring transparency a liability -reducing suggestion? At CIRSA, we've seen our <br />members become involved in litigation over their meeting practices. Based on our <br />experience, the answer to that question is yes. There are watchdogs out there scrutinizing <br />you, and they will pounce on you with allegations of violations and a lawsuit if your <br />meetings practices don't pass muster under the law. CIRSA has open meetings/executive <br />session defense cost coverage for member governing bodies, but by honoring the letter <br />and spirit of the open meetings laws, you can avoid costly and potentially embarrassing <br />litigation. <br />8 CHAPTER 1 <br />