A local public Board has many closed meetings, simply because the agenda items discussed might be too embarrassing or inconvenient to discuss in a public setting.
POTENTIAL DAMAGE
Transparency and accountability are damaged, as is the Board’s credibility. With so many issues being dealt with in secret, rumours spread fast and poison the air. Public trust is eroded, and the validity of Board decisions may be challenged, possibly in court, on the grounds that they should have been made in open sessions. Time and money may thereby be diverted toward damage control, making fewer resources available for strategic priorities.
INTERVENTION
Teach your Board to balance the need for transparency with the need for risk management. Ensure that most decisions are made in public and that no issue is placed on a closed meeting agenda without valid reasons. Such reasons are likely to be documented in your applicable legislation, bylaws, or policies. They usually include protecting the privacy of third parties and protecting the organization’s interests. Typical closed meetings topics include hiring or firing decisions, legal advice on sensitive matters, labor negotiations or other contracts, the sale or acquisition of land, and choosing a person to receive an award.
Avoid scheduling open meeting items and closed meeting items on the same agenda, since this can be frustrating for observers (who must leave when the Board goes into a closed sessions without knowing when to return) and confusing for the minute taker (for whom it is a challenge to keep separate minutes for open and closed sessions). Instead, schedule two separate meetings, one open and one closed, and hold them one after the other, with separate minutes kept for each. Minutes of a closed meeting should be kept confidential and should include only the topics and the decisions made, but no attempt should be made to summarize the discussion.
If an issue is on a closed meeting agenda without a valid reason, the Board should transfer it to the next open meeting agenda. Conversely, if a closed meeting issue is mistakenly placed on an open meeting agenda, it should be transferred to the next closed meeting agenda.
