In One more time? we pointed out that our county hospital board considered the 2016 performance goals and objectives of our soon to be ex hospital administrator.
They went into executive session, came out and then voted to approve something. We say something because they did not discuss anything in the public session. Evidently they made decisions and came up with an item in executive session.
That does not work well with the Texas Open Meetings Act. All of the board’s actions including decisions are required by law to be made in view of the public.
We concluded the article with the statement that we would have to wait for the meeting minutes to be published before we would know anything.
Still a mystery
The minutes of that meeting are out. They read:
19. Discuss and take appropriate action regarding the 2016 Performance Goals and Objectives of Mr. James N. Valenti, President and Chief Executive Officer of the El Paso County Hospital District, pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.074.
ACTION: MOTION to approve this item was made by Mr. Volk and Seconded by Mr. Anderson. The vote was Mr. Anderson, Yes, Mr. Volk, Yes, Mr. DeGroat, Yes, Mr. Gallardo, Yes, and Ms. Arrieta, Yes. Motion Carried.
Huh?
All we know is that they went into executive session, came up with an item, came out of executive session, and then approved the item.
What does the item say or do?
Beats me.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Is Arrieta the parliamentarian? She’d good at that and fuzzy math, you will recall?
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No, she is a voting board member.
My understanding is that they have an assistant county attorney present at the meetings.
One would think that he/she would help them to obey the law.
Brutus
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If nothing was posted to be discussed in Ex session on the agenda then this is flat out illegal. The courts have ruled that there has to be enough information posted to inform the citizens..
Cox Enters. Inc. v. Bd. of Trs.
, 706 S.W.2d 956 (Tex. 1986).
Notice Requirements
2014
Open Meetings Handbook
•
Office of the Attorney General
24
VII.
Notice Requirements
A.
Content
The Act requires written notice
of all meetings. Section 551.041 of the Act provides:
A governmental body shall give written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of
each meeting held by the governmental body.
171
A governmental body must give the public advance notice of the subjects it will consider in an open
meeting or a closed executive session.
172
The Act does not require the notice of a closed meeting to
cite the section or subsection numbers of provisions authorizing the closed meeting.
173
No judicial
decision or attorney ge
neral opinion states that a governmental body must indicate in the notice
whether a subject will be discussed in open or closed session,
174
but some governmental bodies do
include this information. If the notices posted for a governmental body’s meetings consistently
distinguish between subjects for public deliberation and subjects for executive session deliberation,
an abrupt departure from this practice may raise a question as to the adequacy of the notice.
175
Governmental actions taken in violation of the notice requirements of the Act are voidable.
176
If
some actions taken at a meeting do not violate the notice requirements while others do, only the
actions in violation of the Act are voidable.
177
(For a discussion of the voidability of the
governmental body
’s actions, refer to Part XI.C
. of this
H
andbook
.)
The notice must be sufficient to apprise the general public of the subjects to be considered during the
meeting.
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Transparency??? NOT!!! Shady, dirty, sneaky, weasely, underhanded, arrogant, unscrupulous, irresponsible….Point of Order: Illegal! This Board is not worthy of the public trust.
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