Open Meeting Law Complaint filed by Henry Sorett
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM
Instructions for completing the Open Meeting Law Complaint Form
The Attorney General's Division of Open Government interprets and enforces the Open Meeting Law, Chapter 30A of the Massachusetts General Laws, Sections 18-25. Below is the procedure for filing and responding to an Open Meeting Law complaint.
Instructions for filing a complaint:
Instructions for a public body that receives a complaint:
Once the public body has responded to the complaint:
If you have questions concerning the Open Meeting Law complaint process, we encourage you to contact the Division of Open Government by phone at (617) 963-2540 or by e-mail at openmeeting@state.ma.us.
OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Please note that all fields are required unless otherwise noted.
Your Contact Information:
Henry Sorett
58 Longfellow Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
HankSorett@gmail.com
Are you filing the complaint in your capacity as an individual, representative of an organization, or media?
Individual
Public Body that is the subject of this complaint:
City/Town
Name of Public Body: Board of Trustees of the Goodnow Library
Specific person(s), if any, you allege committed the violation:
The entire board and its chair, Ingrid Mayyasi
Date of alleged violation: 19 January 2021
Description of alleged violation:
Describe the alleged violation that this complaint is about. If you believe the alleged violation was intentional, please say so and include the reasons supporting your belief.
Note: This text field has a maximum of 3000 characters.
On January 19, 2021, the Board of Trustees held a meeting via Zoom noticed to consider their relationship with the Friends of the Goodnow Library, Inc. ("Friends") The meeting commenced at approximately 6:30 p.m. Without allowing anyone to comment, the Trustees announced their conclusions, voted to disassociate with the Friends and purported to order the Friends not to use the Goodnow Library name further. There were no deliberations and none of the people who had asked to be heard were permitted to speak until after the vote. I and several others spoke in opposition to the Trustees' action but our comments made no difference to the Trustees who had obviously reached their decision outside of this meeting. The meeting concluded at approximately 7:45 p.m. The Trustees issued a formal written statement at 8:30 p.m. which had obviously been written prior to the meeting. The "public" meeting on January 19, 2021was not the time or place where deliberations over this issue actually occurred and the outcome was a foregone conclusion. The Sudbury Town Clerk advises that the Trustees did not hold a duly convened executive session prior to this meeting.
Before this meeting, the Friends were served with a demand that they surrender their funds and their independence as a separate 501(c)(3) entity and turn over their funds to the Library with a proposed memorandum of understanding ("MOU"). The Friends responded with a counter proposed MOU based on mutual respect, recognizing that the Friends is an independent entity with its own fiduciary obligations. In the "public" meeting, the Trustees did not debate the merits of the Friends' proposal.
The January 19, 2021 "public" meeting's outcome had obviously been discussed amongst the Trustees without compliance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law.
What action do you want the public body to take in response to your complaint?
Note: This text field has a maximum of 500 characters.
1) The Trustees must admit their violation of the Open Meeting Law and apologize. (2) Void the action taken as to the Friends. (3) Engage in a public process and a mediation to resolve any disagreements that might exist, recognizing the Friends' independent 501(c)(3) status, the work that Friends' volunteers have provided to the Library and the monies that the Friends have donated to the Library. (4) Commit to handling all future discussions in accordance with the Open Meeting Law.
Review, sign, and submit your complaint
Publication to Website. As part of the Open Data Initiative, the AGO will publish to its website certain information regarding your complaint, including your name and the name of the public body. The AGO will not publish your contact information.
By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read and understood the provisions above and certify that the information I have provided is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM
Instructions for completing the Open Meeting Law Complaint Form
The Attorney General's Division of Open Government interprets and enforces the Open Meeting Law, Chapter 30A of the Massachusetts General Laws, Sections 18-25. Below is the procedure for filing and responding to an Open Meeting Law complaint.
Instructions for filing a complaint:
- Fill out the attached two-page form completely and sign it. File the complaint with the public body within 30 days of the alleged violation. If the violation was not reasonably discoverable at the time it occurred, you must file the complaint within 30 days of the date the violation was reasonably discoverable. A violation that occurs during an open session of a meeting is reasonably discoverable on the date of the meeting.
- To file the complaint:
- For a local or municipal public body, you must submit a copy of the complaint to the chair of the public body AND to the municipal clerk.
- For all other public bodies, you must submit a copy of the complaint to the chair of the public body.
- Complaints may be filed by mail, email, or by hand. Please retain a copy for your records.
- If the public body does not respond within 14 business days and does not request an extension to respond, contact the Division for further assistance.
Instructions for a public body that receives a complaint:
- The chair must disseminate the complaint to the members of the public body.
- The public body must meet to review the complaint within 14 business days (usually 20-22 calendar days).
- After review, but within 14 business days, the public body must respond to the complaint in writing and must send the complainant a response and a description of any action the public body has taken to address it. At the same time, the body must send the Attorney General a copy of the response. The public body may delegate this responsibility to its counsel or a staff member, but only after it has met to review the complaint.
- If a public body requires more time to review the complaint and respond, it may request an extension of time for good cause by contacting the Division of Open Government.
Once the public body has responded to the complaint:
- If you are not satisfied with that the public body's response to your complaint, you may file a copy of the complaint with the Division by mail, e-mail, or by hand, but only once you have waited for 30 days after filing the complaint with the public body.
- When you file your complaint with the Division, please include the complaint form and all documentation relevant to the alleged violation. You may wish to attach a cover letter explaining why the public body's response does not adequately address your complaint.
- The Division will not review complaints filed with us more than 90 days after the violation, unless we granted an extension to the public body or you can demonstrate good cause for the delay.
If you have questions concerning the Open Meeting Law complaint process, we encourage you to contact the Division of Open Government by phone at (617) 963-2540 or by e-mail at openmeeting@state.ma.us.
OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Please note that all fields are required unless otherwise noted.
Your Contact Information:
Henry Sorett
58 Longfellow Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
HankSorett@gmail.com
Are you filing the complaint in your capacity as an individual, representative of an organization, or media?
Individual
Public Body that is the subject of this complaint:
City/Town
Name of Public Body: Board of Trustees of the Goodnow Library
Specific person(s), if any, you allege committed the violation:
The entire board and its chair, Ingrid Mayyasi
Date of alleged violation: 19 January 2021
Description of alleged violation:
Describe the alleged violation that this complaint is about. If you believe the alleged violation was intentional, please say so and include the reasons supporting your belief.
Note: This text field has a maximum of 3000 characters.
On January 19, 2021, the Board of Trustees held a meeting via Zoom noticed to consider their relationship with the Friends of the Goodnow Library, Inc. ("Friends") The meeting commenced at approximately 6:30 p.m. Without allowing anyone to comment, the Trustees announced their conclusions, voted to disassociate with the Friends and purported to order the Friends not to use the Goodnow Library name further. There were no deliberations and none of the people who had asked to be heard were permitted to speak until after the vote. I and several others spoke in opposition to the Trustees' action but our comments made no difference to the Trustees who had obviously reached their decision outside of this meeting. The meeting concluded at approximately 7:45 p.m. The Trustees issued a formal written statement at 8:30 p.m. which had obviously been written prior to the meeting. The "public" meeting on January 19, 2021was not the time or place where deliberations over this issue actually occurred and the outcome was a foregone conclusion. The Sudbury Town Clerk advises that the Trustees did not hold a duly convened executive session prior to this meeting.
Before this meeting, the Friends were served with a demand that they surrender their funds and their independence as a separate 501(c)(3) entity and turn over their funds to the Library with a proposed memorandum of understanding ("MOU"). The Friends responded with a counter proposed MOU based on mutual respect, recognizing that the Friends is an independent entity with its own fiduciary obligations. In the "public" meeting, the Trustees did not debate the merits of the Friends' proposal.
The January 19, 2021 "public" meeting's outcome had obviously been discussed amongst the Trustees without compliance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law.
What action do you want the public body to take in response to your complaint?
Note: This text field has a maximum of 500 characters.
1) The Trustees must admit their violation of the Open Meeting Law and apologize. (2) Void the action taken as to the Friends. (3) Engage in a public process and a mediation to resolve any disagreements that might exist, recognizing the Friends' independent 501(c)(3) status, the work that Friends' volunteers have provided to the Library and the monies that the Friends have donated to the Library. (4) Commit to handling all future discussions in accordance with the Open Meeting Law.
Review, sign, and submit your complaint
- Disclosure of Your Complaint.
Publication to Website. As part of the Open Data Initiative, the AGO will publish to its website certain information regarding your complaint, including your name and the name of the public body. The AGO will not publish your contact information.
- Consulting With a Private Attorney.
- Submit Your Complaint to the Public Body.
By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read and understood the provisions above and certify that the information I have provided is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.