Johnson County Commish Confronts Open Meeting Investigation & More Controversy

The Golden Ghetto remains mired in partisan controversy and good government rules are the latest challenge confronting new progressive leadership.

Check the basics . . .

Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara filed a complaint against her colleagues with Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office in July alleging the violation at a June 29 meeting. She and two other commissioners voted against holding the closed meeting, but four other commissioners voted to proceed with it.

Elected bodies are allowed to go into closed session to discuss such things as specific employees, but matters of broad public policy must be dealt with in open meetings under the law.

If the AG finds a violation it could result in a mere agreement not to violate the law going forward, but could also include individual fines of $500 and/or mandatory training in the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA) . . .

“It appears that he does not like dissent. And I will tell you that it appears that his goal is to get through the meetings as quickly as possible,” she says, though adding, “he has not been able to streamline the meetings as much as he wanted.”

“We are fully cooperating with the Attorney General’s Office,” JoCo commission Chairman Mike Kelly said in a statement, “and I trust the veracity of this investigation. I appreciate that our team is handling these allegations directly and remain confident in this process.”

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Johnson County commissioners to respond Thursday to attorney general complaint they violated Kansas Open Meetings Act

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