Warning of ‘Legal Jeopardy’ Over Apparent Meeting Notice Issue

Prompts Scheduling of Do-over for Nomination to Tabernacle Body

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer TABERNACLE—Longtime Tabernacle Township

the vacancy within 30 days of the seat being vacated.

AS WELL AS TAKEOUT. KEOUT.

Development Board Chairman

Land

Noble McNaughton appeared to be chosen to fill a vacancy on the Tabernacle Township Committee during a special Feb. 2 meeting of the governing body, though whether that meeting was actually a legal one is now something that is in question.

And as a result, despite McNaughton subsequently taking the oath of office and even delivering brief remarks upon him being selected to fill the committee vacancy, the entire nominating and swearing in process was to be reversed and repeated all over again on the afternoon of Feb. 9 just as this newspaper went to press, as indicated in a notice of second special meeting sent to three newspapers the day following the initial Feb. 2 special meeting.

It came as Township Solicitor William Burns, also the municipality’s public information officer, said before the Feb. 2 special meeting action had been taken that a resident had “raised concern” prior to the session convening that 48 hours’ advance notice for the Feb. 2 meeting “didn’t appear to be” on the township’s bulletin board “yesterday,” as is required under the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA).

And while the township solicitor maintained on a couple of occasions throughout the Feb. 2 proceedings, despite the complaint, “it appears everything was done appropriately with respect to the notice for the special meeting,” he recognized at one point a “resident indicated the notice for the special meeting was not on the bulletin board in town hall” and it “was posted or reposted once the resident brought the concern to the attention of the township.”

In recognizing, however, that there was a question about the legality of the Feb. 2 meeting, Burns proposed that the governing body adopt a resolution providing an “affirmation to continue” with the session under the premise that the governing body had to “deal with matters of urgency and importance” and that a failure to proceed could “result in substantial harm to public interest.”

Burns contended that “notwithstanding” if there was or was not adequate notice, if three-quarters of the voting members present for the Feb. 2 session (or three of four township committeepersons) voted in the affirmative to continue with the proceedings under the premise the agenda and anticipated action item was urgent, then the meeting could legally proceed.

“It is not that it ‘appears’ it wasn’t posted,” retorted transparency advocate and resident Stuart Brooks in response to Burns earlier comment. “I was at the township building Feb. 1 and it wasn’t on the bulletin board. This isn’t an emergency meeting; there is no pressing business here. This meeting was discussed at your last meeting (on Jan. 23) when you set this meeting in order.

“So, there was plenty of time to give proper notice, but it was never posted on the bulletin board or on the front door, as these things always are. I don’t know when it was posted – an hour before, or 24 hours before, but certainly not 48 hours as the law requires. Without 48 hours’ notice, you don’t have jurisdiction and can’t take official action.”

Burns later maintained that the “reason there is urgency” to carry on with the Feb. 2 special meeting is because of a “scheduling issue” in which “a political party in town” had provided the names of three potential candidates to fill the committee vacancy “late,” in turn “putting the backs of the committee against the wall” in meeting a requirement of the governing body to fill

Republican Robert “Bob” Sunbury vacated his township committee seat at the start of what was to be his second three-year term, back on Jan. 4.

Stuart Brooks’ wife, Fran, also a transparency advocate, who has challenged the township on several occasions in court in regard to both alleged OPMA and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) violations, challenged that the issue of a committee vacancy was one that “suddenly had to be discussed” as an emergency, also pointing out the special meeting had been set back on Jan. 23.

“So, there is no emergency here,” Fran Brooks declared. “This doesn’t even fit the definition of an emergency meeting under OPMA. And you folks either don’t recognize it, don’t care about it, or are ignorant of it. We are not going to drop this issue. Taking action tonight really puts you in legal jeopardy because the facts show there wasn’t proper notice.”

Fran Brooks also maintained it had yet to be “empirically determined” whether the Feb. 2 special meeting had been properly noticed to two of the township’s designated legal newspapers to allow enough time for publication of the notice.

“In our view, you are in total violation of the OMPA adequate notice requirements,” she declared. “Don’t try to cover up with an ‘emergency meeting,’ or (calling this) an ‘emerging issue.’”

Fran Brooks also charged that “no one at the township office even knew about the meeting,” maintaining it “came as a surprise” to the workers there when it was brought up, pointing out a notice for the Feb. 2 session only “showed up” on the municipal website after some of the workers were queried, which “was not 48 hours’ notice.”

“Frankly, this is such an embarrassment,” she asserted. “It just shows total ignorance and incompetence on the committees’ part to not make sure proper notice is given.”

When longtime Committeewoman Kim Brown asked Burns if he had a response to the Brooks, he maintained adequate notice “appears to have been met” for Feb. 2, but that “out of an abundance of caution” and in the “interest of transparency” he would ask that the governing body adopt the resolution allowing for the special session to proceed, emphasizing that to not carry on with it would potentially “result in substantial harm to the public’s interest.”

The resolution passed 4-0, with the governing body then proceeding to “new business” with Deputy Mayor Mark Hartman nominating McNaughton, a

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