Summary
The Rhode Island Supreme Court addressed whether the Rhode Island Board Council on Elementary and Secondary Education provided adequate notice under the Open Meetings Act for a meeting concerning multiple executive pay plans. The court held that the notice was inadequate and remanded for determination of the appropriate remedy. The court also held that the Compensation Review Committee was not a public body subject to the Open Meetings Act.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the council's agenda provided adequate notice under the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act that multiple retrospective executive pay plans would be considered at the September 8, 2014 meeting.
- Whether the Compensation Review Committee constituted a public body subject to the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act.
Holdings
- The council violated the Open Meetings Act because its agenda did not fairly inform the public that multiple executive pay plans, including retrospective plans dating back to 2012, would be considered, and the referenced enclosure was not available on the Secretary of State's website.
- The Compensation Review Committee was not a public body under the Open Meetings Act and therefore was not subject to the Act's public-notice and open-meeting requirements.
Key quotations
“Instead, we have held that the public body, here the council, must provide “fair notice” of what will be discussed at a meeting.” (at 307)
“The public had the statutory right to receive a more complete notice of what would be discussed and decided at the council meeting; this is especially true where the matters relate to expenditures of tax-payer monies.” (at 309)
“Although the CRC was composed of a group of high-level state officials and operated under a charter, these two factors alone are insufficient to place them into the “public body” umbrella.” (at 311)
Factual background
The Rhode Island Board Council posted an agenda for a September 8, 2014 meeting that listed approval of RIDE's Executive Pay Plan and Organizational Chart, but the referenced enclosure containing proposed retrospective pay plans for fiscal years 2012 through 2015 was not accessible on the Secretary of State's website. The Compensation Review Committee was an informal advisory group of six RIDE employees that reviewed compensation and organizational matters and made recommendations to the RIDE commissioner, who alone had authority to take personnel actions. The CRC did not meet regularly, was not created by executive order, and did not provide public notice or maintain minutes.
Procedural history
Pontarelli filed a two-count complaint challenging the adequacy of notice for a Rhode Island Board Council meeting and alleging that the Compensation Review Committee was a public body subject to the Open Meetings Act. Defendants moved to dismiss, and Pontarelli moved for summary judgment. The Superior Court treated the motions as cross-motions for summary judgment, granted judgment for defendants, and entered final judgment on June 23, 2015. The Supreme Court of Rhode Island reversed as to the meeting-notice claim, affirmed as to the Compensation Review Committee claim, and remanded.
Remand instructions
The Superior Court was instructed to enter judgment in plaintiff's favor on count 1 and hold a hearing to determine the proper remedy under R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-8. The judgment for defendants on count 2 was affirmed.