BACK TO THE SAME OLD GAME IN ST PETERS

Note to nationwide subscribers: As you know by now, we occasionally comment on local matters and the following commentary is primarily intended to be read by residents of St Charles County, MO and particularly by those who live in St Peters, Missouri.
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The candidates for Alderman and the method that will be used to select one of them to fill the vacancy created by Bruce Holt's departure appeared in a press release issued by the City of St Peters on Aug. 27. At the end of the press release it stated, "The next step in the process will be candidate interviews with the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen during an EXECUTIVE SESSION..."

We object to the use of EXECUTIVE SESSION to select a candidate to hold a political position, elected or appointed! We are not suggesting the need for active public involvement in the session but we certainly see a need for those who want to observe the questions and answers to be able to do so. The individual selected will make decisions that could likely impose lasting consequences on the residents of St Peters. Questions and answers should be open to the public and the process should not be conducted in a closed session. In our opinion, this is simply another violation in a long line of violations where politicians in St Peters have decided to disregard the interests of their citizens. Mr Pagano was supported by many who thought he would lean toward open government but, now that he is in office, except for lip service, that appears to be a promise without substance.

In conversation with Mayor Pagano, he indicated ...

...that the decision was made to hold interviews in executive session because of "personnel considerations." In our opinion this is simply an excuse to keep important details about candidates and candidate selection out of public view. According to the Mayor, the Attorney General said "OK" to the procedure that apparently will be used. These days politicians seem to favor looking out for each other's interests more than the interests of the people and democratic government. In other words, despite the election and the promises made, the new administration of the City of St Peters is going down the same path the old one did! Apparently nothing has changed except the faces.
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MISSOURI SUNSHINE LAW (EXCERPTS)
Missouri's commitment to openness in government is clearly stated in Section 610.011 of the Sunshine Law:

"It is the public policy of this state that meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations of public governmental bodies be open to the public unless otherwise provided by law. Sections 610.010 to 610.200 shall be liberally construed and their exceptions strictly construed to promote this public policy."

"The law sets out the specific instances when a meeting, record or vote may be closed, while stressing these exceptions are to be strictly interpreted to promote the public policy of openness."

"A public governmental body is permitted, but not required, to close its meetings, records and votes when they relate to certain issues listed in Section 610.021. When a public body relies on one of these exceptions to close a meeting or record, it should bear in mind that the exceptions are to be read narrowly under Section 610.011. Matters that may be closed include:
    ·Legal actions, causes of action or litigation (except that votes, minutes and settlement agreements         must be opened to the public on final disposition, unless ordered closed by a court).
    ·Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate where public knowledge might adversely affect the amount paid     in the transaction.
    ·Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a particular employee.
    ·Welfare cases of identifiable individuals.
    ·Software codes for electronic data processing.
    ·Individually identifiable personnel records.
    ·Records related to existing or proposed security systems."
    (Underlining is by Editor)