Hardy County Commission v. John A. Elmore

Summary

This is a separate opinion by Justice Loughry, concurring in part and dissenting in part, concerning the Hardy County Commission’s purchase of the Baker building and imposition of a special emergency ambulance service fee. The opinion argues that the Commission’s actions were subject to West Virginia’s Open Governmental Proceedings Act and that the Emergency Ambulance Service Act did not expressly and specifically exempt them from its requirements. It also disputes the legality of imposing the fee without the statutory prerequisites for providing emergency ambulance services.

Holdings

1. In Justice Loughry's view, the Open Governmental Proceedings Act applied because the Emergency Ambulance Service Act did not expressly and specifically exempt proceedings concerning ambulance-service funding or creation from the open-meeting requirements.
2. In Justice Loughry's view, the Commission's imposition of the ambulance fee was unlawful because the statutory prerequisites for invoking the Emergency Ambulance Service Act had not been established.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the West Virginia Open Governmental Proceedings Act applied to the Commission's reconsideration of the Baker building purchase and imposition of the ambulance fee.
2. Whether West Virginia Code § 7-15-18 expressly and specifically exempted Emergency Ambulance Service Act proceedings from the Open Governmental Proceedings Act.
3. Whether the Commission had satisfied the statutory prerequisites under the Emergency Ambulance Service Act before imposing the special ambulance service fee.

Disposition

other