Opinion ID: 1298734
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: public meeting

Text: Stoetzel claims that the Board violated the public meetings law, § 84-1408 et seq. The court directed a verdict for the City on this cause of action. Section 84-1414(1) requires a court to declare any formal action taken by a public body in violation of the public meetings law void if the suit is commenced within 120 days of the meeting at which the violation occurred. Stoetzel claims that the Board's acceptance of the bids at the November 13, 1998, meeting violated § 84-1412(8), which states that [p]ublic bodies shall make available at the meeting ... for examination and copying by members of the public, at least one copy of all reproducible written material to be discussed at an open meeting. At the November 13 meeting, the Board discussed only the bid summary and the recommendations prepared by Hastings Utilities. Stoetzel concedes that the Board made both of these documents available to the public at the meeting. It argues, however, that the City violated § 84-1412(8) by failing to make the underlying bids available at the November 13 meeting of the Board as well. The City, however, argues that even if the Board violated § 84-1412(8), Stoetzel waived its right to challenge the alleged violation. The trial court's order directing a verdict for the City is somewhat ambiguous, but it appears that the City's waiver argument was at least one reason for the court's decision. Accordingly, we address the question. In several prior cases, we have recognized that when a person attends a public meeting and fails to object to a purported violation of the public meetings law, that person is prevented from asserting the violation in a subsequent court action. See, Hauser v. Nebraska Police Stds. Adv. Council, 264 Neb. 944, 653 N.W.2d 240 (2002); Wasikowski v. Nebraska Quality Jobs Bd., 264 Neb. 403, 648 N.W.2d 756 (2002); Otey v. State, 240 Neb. 813, 485 N.W.2d 153 (1992); Witt v. School District No. 70, 202 Neb. 63, 273 N.W.2d 669 (1979); Alexander v. School Dist. No. 17, 197 Neb. 251, 248 N.W.2d 335 (1976). The rule recognizes that a timely objection permits the public body to remedy its mistake promptly and defer formal action until the deficiency can be rectified. Hauser v. Nebraska Police Stds. Adv. Council, 264 Neb. at 949, 653 N.W.2d at 244. The same reasoning is equally applicable to violations of § 84-1412(8). If a person who attends a public meeting believes that § 84-1412(8) requires that documents be made available at the meeting, a timely objection will give the Board an opportunity to remedy the situation. Here, the parties dispute whether Isadore made a timely objection. Isadore did not request to see the documents until immediately after the Board adjourned. The City argues that an objection to a violation of § 84-1412(8) must be made during the meeting and that the meeting ends when the public body adjourns. Stoetzel argues that a meeting begins when a majority of public officials have begun to arrive, mingle, and prepare for the meeting and that it ends when a majority of public officials are no longer mingling after the meeting. However, we find it unnecessary to reach the question of when an objection to a violation of § 84-1412(8) must be made. When Isadore requested to see the underlying bids, he did not make the request to a Board member. Instead, after the meeting, he approached Stange, a Hastings Utilities engineer. Stange refused to let him see the bids, but directed him to Schultes, the Hastings Utilities manager. Schultes also declined to show the bids to Isadore. Although both Stange and Schultes were at the meeting, neither were Board members. It is implicit in our rule requiring a person attending a public meeting to object to a public meetings law violation that the objection must be made to the public body or to a member of the public body. § 84-1412(8) creates duties running directly from public bodies to members of the public. If the objection is made directly to the public body or to a member of the public body, it guarantees that the public body has an opportunity to consider and correct any alleged violation. But if the objection is made to a public employee or to another member of the public who is at the meeting, there is no guarantee that the public body will receive the objection and have the opportunity to correct it. We hold that to preserve an objection to a § 84-1412(8) violation, a person who attends a public meeting must not only object to the violation, but must make that objection to the public body or to a member of the public body. Because Isadore never made his request to see the bid documents to a Board member, he waived his claim that the Board violated § 84-1412(8).