President Ferguson stated that he misspoke with respect to the policy on new admissions and has asked that the County Home Administrator be present at the next Commissioners' meeting so that the policy on new admissions will be discussed and clarified in a public meeting. Clearly, the Commissioners are a governing body of a public agency and any gatherings of a majority of its members would constitute a meeting subject to the requirements of the Open Door Law. In general, a governing body must either take official, including making decisions or establishing policies, in a public meeting or in an executive session. A meeting that is open to the public must permit the public an opportunity to attend, observe and record. Executive sessions are meetings from which the public is properly excluded, except that the governing body may invite persons who are necessary to the purpose of that executive session to attend.
Executive sessions are specific exceptions to the general rule of openness under the Open Door Law.
According to the facts presented, the only evidence that there was a violation of the Open Door Law is the statement from President Ferguson that an informal decision was made by the Commissioners. If, in fact, his statement were true, this would be a violation. President Ferguson, in response to your formal complaint, now admits that he only assumed that this decision was made based upon his interpretation of the July 17th vote to phase out the facility. He claims that the Commissioners have never discussed the issue of new admissions since the decision was made to eventually close the facility. It appears, then, that no violation of the Open Door Law occurred.