The Public Access Counselor (PAC) of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office found that two closed sessions of the Galesburg city council in December violated the Open Meetings Act.
In a statement, Mayor Peter Schwartzman said it was a “lesson learned” and should not be construed as a violation of public trust.
“There is no indication from the AG's office that there was a conscious attempt by anyone to violate the OMA or anything malicious or deceptive in the content of the discussions that took place,” Schwartzman said.
The closed session meetings on Dec. 5 and Dec. 19 were both called for the purpose of discussing the appointment, employment, compensation, and performance of specific employees.
The Dec. 5 closed session was inadvertently broadcast to the public and later published online by a local news outlet.
During that meeting, City Manager Gerald Smith discussed the impending retirement of the public works director, creating a new position for that role, and wanting to hire a qualified minority candidate.
The PAC’s review found the council did not substantively discuss conduct, performance, or terms for any specific employee, but focused on hiring a minority applicant in response to an active federal discrimination complaint against the city.
Therefore, it was not authorized for closed session.
The PAC determined portions of the Dec. 19 closed session were discussions of salaries of current employees and was related to the performance and compensation of specific employees, which was permissible.
However, discussions about unfilled positions, creating new positions, and a salary study were not permissible, according to the PAC.
The office's review was based on verbatim recordings of the meetings.
The OMA complaints were filed in January by Ward One Council Member Bradley Hix and former Ward Seven Council Member Larry Cox, both of whom were in the closed sessions.
The complaints were initially filed specifically against Schwartzman and Smith, but the council was investigated as a whole.
The PAC determined issuing a binding opinion is not necessary and closed the file without further action.
Schwartzman said any violation of the OMA is serious and he wants the city to be as transparent as possible.
“The opinions offered by the Attorney General’s Office are instructive and indicate that while clearly there was no intent on anyone’s part to willfully violate the Open Meeting Act, violations can still occur,” Schwartzman said.
TSPR has learned of two other OMA complaints filed against Galesburg public officials and has requested details through a Freedom of Information Act request.
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