Lebanon council among governments accused of meetings law violations

Lebanon City Council has joined a growing list of local governments challenged about compliance with Ohio's Sunshine Law.

The local council and the seven members individually have been named in a lawsuit filed by the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes (COAST).

The Cincinnati-area group, originally focused on limiting tax levies and issues, also challenges the adherence of elected bodies of local communities and school districts to state open records and open meetings laws, known as the Sunshine Law.

“This is a push to open government more in general,” Brian Shrive, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit against the Lebanon City Council on June 20 in Warren County Common Pleas Court. “I think we’re seeing a reversion away from open government.”

RELATED: Lebanon school officials face lawsuits claiming Ohio Sunshine Law violations 

Lawyers working with COAST have brought lawsuits against communities around the area, resulting in payments to the lawyers, as well as individuals represented in some cases.

In November 2013, Lebanon City Schools agreed to pay $46,500 to settle an open meetings and open records lawsuit brought on behalf of resident Christine Young. She received $1,500, lawyers representing her $45,000.

The settlement was reached after the 12th District Court of Appeals ruled the board violated the law. The board maintained it has and will continue to follow the Sunshine Law.

RELATED: Township ordered to pay $200,000 in open-meetings case

In July 2014, a Warren County judge ordered Clearcreek Twp. to pay almost $200,000 in attorney fees to lawyers linked to COAST who represented resident Jack Chrisman in an open-meetings lawsuit filed in 2011. As in the Lebanon case, the resident, in this case Chrisman, received $500 per violation.

The rest went to the lawyers.

Judge James Flannery ruled Clearcreek Twp. violated state law through a “regular practice” of holding private pre-meetings before public meetings.

RELATED: Judge: Clearcreek trustees violated public meetings law

The lawsuit filed in June against Lebanon City Council uses meeting minutes posted online after executive sessions - portions of otherwise open meetings during which the elected officials move behind closed doors.

In this case, Shrive described the problems as the result of “laxity more than anything untoward.”

“We don’t believe anything nefarious was going on,” Shrive said.

The lawsuit claims the council violated Ohio Sunshine Law on nine occasions between April 18, 2016, and Feb. 7, 2017, when it went into executive session to discuss legal or personnel matters or economic development issues.

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Citing the minutes, the lawsuit claims the council “failed in their motions, recited reasons and votes” to comply with the law.

Executive sessions are only legal for “pending or imminent court action,” while “‘personnel matters is never an adequate description,” the lawsuit claims.

On Tuesday, Lebanon City Council is scheduled to discuss a resolution settling the lawsuit and agreeing to pay COAST $7,275 in attorney and civil forfeiture fees.

“The resolution of the issues related to the COAST claim is critical to resolve the litigation, toll the running of attorneys’ fees and further compliance with Ohio’s Open Meetings Act,” according to the proposed resolution.

The settlement enables the city to avoid “lengthy and protracted litigation over the COAST claim (that) will be unduly expensive and will not serve the public interest,” according to the resolution.

Lebanon City Council is not acknowledging any violations.

“We try not to go into executive session as much as possible,” Law Director Mark Yurick said earlier this month. “To the extent we need to tighten up, we will.”

Yurick did not respond to requests for a response to Shrive’s comment on broader problems with open government in Ohio.

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