Douglas gets meeting law warning

Douglas County commissioners could decide on a response today to a reprimand from the Attorney General's office concerning an open-meeting law violation.

Douglas County resident Bob Allgeier filed the complaint in early June after Commissioner Jacques Etchegoyhen asked other commissioners at a February hearing to consider funding for the W.B. Park property on the east fork of the Carson River.

Etchegoyhen was a land-use consultant for the park.

Following instructions from District Attorney Scott Doyle, Etchegoyhen abstained from the vote, and the measure passed. But Deputy Attorney General Neil Rombardo said the item was not agendized.

"Agenda items must be described in clear and complete detail so the public understands the topics to be discussed," Rombardo said. "The public was not given proper notice because the projects included in the commission's discussion and possible action were not identified.

"For this reason, this office finds a violation of the open-meeting law," he said. "The Douglas County commission is hereby advised that any future violations of the open-meeting law as to its agendas will be subject to prosecution by this office."

Allgeier, a Douglas County commissioner from 1992 to 1996, sent his complaint to the Attorney General's office in June, 106 days after the commission's action.

Because the charge did not reach the attorney general's office within the required 60-day time limit, the ruling cannot be voided, Rombardo wrote.

In his response, Douglas County District Attorney Scott Doyle asks for a withdrawal of the decision.

He said the complaint was 165 days old when the decision was issued, and at some point the statute of limitations with respect to the open-meeting law must be given substantive meaning.

All alternative actions that could be taken by a public body do not have to be noticed, Doyle argued.

"Per a February 2002 decision from former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, the level of detail required for agenda items by legal analysis like Mr. Rombardo's 'decision' is not the level of detail required by legal authority," Doyle wrote.

If county commissioners agree, the response will be mailed to Attorney General Brian Sandoval.

Contact Susie Vasquez at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 213.