A watchdog organization focused on government transparency says the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners may have broken the state’s open meeting law while looking into whether the county treasurer violated the county’s hiring rules.
The Mexico Foundation for Open Government says commissioners failed to adequately describe their intentions on agendas for closed meetings purportedly focused on whether County Treasurer Tim Eichenberg is allowed to hire a former elected official.
Commissioners last year voted to keep in place a one-year “cooling-off period” in the county’s code of conduct for former elected officials before they can accept employment or consulting work with the county.
Tim Eichenberg, who in November was elected county treasurer, hired former county clerk Linda Stover as his deputy. Stover was sworn in Jan. 1, the day after her term as clerk ended.
Commissioners since then have held a number of closed-door meetings to consider whether Eichenberg is in the wrong. New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Legal Director Amanda Lavin said that’s where commissioners erred. The state’s Open Meetings Act (OMA) identifies circumstances under which a meeting may be closed. Lavin said Tuesday the description on the agendas didn’t justify conducting a closed meeting. The agendas stated commissioners would discuss “restrictions on employment and appointment after leaving office.”
Lavin said the agenda didn’t make it clear what commissioners were discussing or how they justified meeting in private.
“If they can’t tell us what they’re talking about, whether or not they’re in compliance is not clear,” she said.
Lavin forwarded to City Desk ABQ an email from attorney John Grubesic of the county’s legal department, in response to an inquiry from Lavin.
“OMA is applicable to ‘meetings subject to the attorney-client privilege,’ Grubesic wrote. “In this instance, suit has not been filed, but the matter is still subject to attorney-client privilege protections.”
OMA does cite “attorney-client privileged communication pertaining to threatened or pending litigation” as an allowed reason for public bodies to meet in private, but Lavin said the “threatened litigation” exception to OMA requires there to be a credible — not merely hypothetical — possibility that a public body will be engaged in litigation.
Lavin said she reached out to the county for clarification and did not receive a satisfactory response.
Lavin said the foundation filed the complaint after communicating with county legal staff. She said the county didn’t provide enough information, but that the New Mexico Department Department of Justice can compel the county to defend its position.
She said she learned Tuesday morning the matter had been assigned to someone with the New Mexico Department Department of Justice for evaluation. The Board of Commissioners has another closed meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Editor’s note: City Desk ABQ Editor Andy Lyman is a board member of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.