After failing again at meeting public open meeting law requirements, RIOC, without explanation, stalled its October board meeting to the last Thursday of the month.
About RIOC’s October 28th Board Meeting
Please take notice that a Board of Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, October 28th, 2021 at 5:30 PM.
RIOC Advisory, October 21st, 2021
The messages continues: “The New York Open Meetings Law (“OML”) provides the public with a right of access to the meetings of a large number of government bodies at the state and local level in New York. The law entitles you to notice of these meetings and gives you the ability to inspect and copy meeting minutes.”
- To view the RIOC board meeting on your mobile device or computer, please go to: live.divacommunications.com/rioc-live/
- To review board materials, notices and minutes, please go to: www.rioc.ny.gov/336/Meetings-Notices
What’s missing…?
According to New York State, “The law requires that notice of the time and place of all meetings be given prior to every meeting (§104). If a meeting is scheduled at least a week in advance, notice must be given to the public and the news media not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting.
“Notice to the public must be accomplished by posting in one or more designated public locations and, when possible, online.”
RIOC always misses some of these elements for every meeting, but the October meeting fail was gross with none of the requirements met at all for the original date.
Open Meetings Law has been on the books since 1977. Earlier administrations followed the rules reliably, but sloppiness with the Haynes administration spills out through everything.
No agenda for this meeting nor any of the required documents have so far been released.
What else…? Speak Up
Unlike some other state agencies, RIOC does not welcome the public to engage with board members at the meeting. However, they do allow public comment before the meeting. Because the meetings remain virtual due to the coronavirus, public comments submitted online are read out loud prior to the meeting.
Speak up, using the form offered on RIOC’s website.
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“I Can Ask”
Chair Fay Christian opened the Operations Advisory Committee on February 12th, reading out member names from a prepared sheet that omitted Melissa Wade. It didn’t feel intentional, but it struck me as odd precisely because it came from something prepared. Lydia Tang gently corrected her, noting that Wade was, in fact, a member of the committee. Wade met the moment with grace, or perhaps she simply wasn’t bothered by it.
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