BERLIN – A state board found no issues with closed session meetings held by Berlin officials regarding Heron Park but believes the town’s salary study should have been discussed in open session.
The Open Meetings Compliance Board (OMCB) issued an opinion Friday identifying no violations with three meetings held to discuss the potential sale of Heron Park. The board did, however, state the town council violated the Open Meetings Act on March 27, 2023, when it excluded the public from discussion of a pay study that didn’t address individual employees.
“We find no violation with respect to the closed sessions on March 21, 2022, July 25, 2022, and March 23, 2023, as the Council’s discussions fell within the procurement exception of § 3-305(b)(14),” the opinion reads. “But the Council violated the Act on March 27, 2023, by excluding the public from a discussion about a personnel study that did not touch on the personal attributes of any individual employee and, thus, fell beyond the scope of the personnel matters exception of § 3 305(b)(1).”
Resident Jason Walter submitted the complaint to the OMCB because he has been frustrated with the council’s meetings related to Heron Park for some time. He said there was no reason a subcommittee—made up of the mayor and two council members—should have met privately and that the procurement exception should not have been used to close council meetings related to the park because those meetings were closed after negotiations had already been entered with Gillis. He was also concerned that the lengthy negotiations will result in the town losing the ability to use the $500,000 demolition grant it received for Heron Park
According to the OMCB, the March 21, 2022, meeting, which was closed based on the procurement exception, was held appropriately