Town makes late attempt to notify press and public of special meeting

Apr. 26—The Town of Lockport failed to post a notice for a public meeting regarding fire protection until the day it was scheduled. The press was notified by email 15 minutes before the start of the special meeting.

Supervisor Mark Crocker said that he and Town Clerk Judith Newbold were themselves caught by surprise and posted the meeting as soon as they could for 10 a.m. Thursday.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Crocker said.

Crocker explained that Rapids Volunteer Fire Co. is in the process of buying a new truck and the bank required a form to be signed and approved by the town board. The form was due on Friday.

Crocker said that by signing "section 147(f) Approval and Written Agreement" it kept the city from being financially responsible for the fire company's purchase.

According to Paul Wolf, of the New York Coalition for Open Government, the late posting is a violation of Open Meetings Law.

"Public notice of the time and place of every meeting shall be given or electronically transmitted, to the extent practicable, to the news media and shall be conspicuously posted in one or more designated public locations at a reasonable time prior thereto," Wolf quoted in an email, also adding that, "A 15-minute notice is certainly not a reasonable amount of time for the public or news media to attend a meeting."

Failure to announce the meeting to the public in a reasonable time does not necessarily negate the action made in the meeting, Wolf said.

"You would have to file a lawsuit," he explained. "They will argue that it was an unintentional mistake the court will most likely let it go."

Councilman Tom Keough was absent from the special meeting.