[MassHistPres] legal decision making

[Tom Keyes]

Hi Dennis,

 

Sorry for lack of clarity.  No, a Board, Committee or Commission cannot take
a secret ballot vote in a public meeting.  There are exemptions for
Executive Session which is done outside of public view but these are very
limited and related to employees, disposition of land, etc., which don't
relate to Boards outside of Selectmen and Councilors.

 

Tom

 

KQS - Management System Development / Ethics & Operational Excellence

 

Thomas F. Keyes, Pres. KQS

Consulting / Contract Services / Ethics & Compliance / Auditing

P.O. Box 375, Sandwich, MA  02563  508-737-0244

 

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a
habit." - Aristotle

 

From: Dennis De Witt [mailto:djd184 at verizon.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2015 10:48 AM
To: Tom Keyes
Cc: Marcia Starkey; MHC MHC listserve
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] legal decision making

 

I think the question was could the vote be taken on paper in an open meeting
and tallied and announced by the chair.  One's instinct is that it cannot
but I couldn't immediately find a citation and I'm not sure the quote below
covers that point.

 

Dennis De Witt

 

Brookline

 

 

On Jan 6, 2015, at 9:44 AM, Tom Keyes <tkeyes at capecod.net> wrote:





Preservation Commissions, Historic Commissions, Planning Boards, or any
other Board or Committee in a municipality, whether elected or appointed,
must follow the open meeting laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

 

All votes must be taken in a regularly scheduled public meeting.

 

This is done to ensure an open and honest process and allow for
accountability to the individual with authority.

 

 

KQS - Management System Development / Ethics & Operational Excellence

 

Thomas F. Keyes, Pres. KQS

Consulting / Contract Services / Ethics & Compliance / Auditing

P.O. Box 375, Sandwich, MA  02563  508-737-0244

 

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a
habit." - Aristotle

 

From:  <mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu>
masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [ <mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu>
mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Marcia Starkey
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2015 4:57 PM
To:  <mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] legal decision making

 

Hello,

 

When a preservation commission must vote on a decision in the presence of an
involved party, are there professional practices it could follow? Can the
vote be written rather than verbal ?

Does anyone have a rule or regulation that addresses this point?

 

Marcia Starkey, Greenfield

unaffiliated

          

 

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