SUSPECT A VIOLATION? YOU HAVE RESOURCES

This is the first in an occasional series on good government practices.

Open records and open meetings laws ensure that citizens are part of the process — as they should be — and they protect citizens’ rights to know what their government is doing.

That means a government agency — city councils, county boards, state agencies and more — cannot spend money, change zoning laws, enact laws or hire without adequate notice to residents.

Under the Open Meetings Act, residents must be given advance notice of meeting times and places and an agenda for the meeting.

Even “emergency” meetings require public notice. Though emergency situations could require a board or council to deviate from the agenda, those instances should be rare.

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation explains, “Items not on the agenda may be considered at a meeting where it becomes ‘necessary’ to do so and such items were not anticipated in advance and deliberately omitted from the agenda.”

In other words, a town council cannot add an item to an agenda to skirt public accountability.

The Open Records Act grants citizen access to most government records, including meeting agendas and minutes, contracts and hiring decisions, and zoning and other ordinance changes and variations.

Violations of the Georgia Open Records Act and the Georgia Open Meetings Act are punishable by fines, and actions taken by government entities that violate either law can be voided.

If you think the Open Meetings Act or Open Records Act has been violated, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office or a nonprofit advocacy organization such as the Georgia First Amendment Foundation can help.

But citizens must act fast by filing a complaint within 90 days.