Much unrest surrounding MCEMS

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The Marshall County Emergency Medical Service District held a Board of Control Meeting on Thursday, March 5. There seemed to be friction amidst the board and residents. Not too long after Chairman Darren Alexander opened the meeting, some residents erupted and voiced their frustrations.

Alexander and the board were clarifying some items from the February 6 and February 27 meeting when a small comment sparked the disruption. He was referring to agenda item 10 from the February 6 meeting.

The item read, “discussion and possible action concerning the matter of violation of open meeting act by staff distributing unapproved minutes.”

Alexander said that a verbal warning was given to the staff needed to be added to the minutes. Dash Stanley, Interim Director of the Marshall County EMS commented that no action was taken.

Alexander replied, “a verbal warning was given. As per open meetings act, minutes can’t be dispersed until approved.”

One unidentified resident added their comment, “Meetings and minutes are open to the public.

“Correct,” Alexander retorted even more firm than before, “but they can’t be dispersed until approved. As accordance to the open meetings act, minutes cannot be dispersed till approved.”

Alexander was forced to bang on the table to get the residents’ attention and calm the cacophony of noises ringing throughout the room. The chairman said he was making the public aware of the rules according to the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act.

“This was brought up at the meeting because the board had been made aware of the violation of open meeting act,” Alexander said. “Per open meeting act, T25 Sec 312A, minutes are to be official. Attorney general opinion ‘official‘ means approved by the board.”

According to Joey Senat, Ph.D. an Associate Professor at the Oklahoma State University School of Media & Strategic Communications and also a noted expert in the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act, the board is losing something in the translation of the statute. The interpretation is a misreading of 2012 OK AG 24. Paragraph 24 addresses this exact question.

“Question five regarding minutes asks at what point in time after a meeting the Corporation Commission’s failure to provide minutes constitutes non-compliance with the Act. The Act does not contain specific statutory deadlines by which minutes must be recorded and available to the public. However, an examination of other law provides some guidance. The Legislature requires the school board and municipal clerks to furnish tentative minutes of regular and special meetings to legal newspapers requesting them within five days after the meetings.”

“The opinion noted that the OMA does not contain specific statutory deadlines by which minutes must be recorded and available to the public’, Senat said and then referred to other statutes requiring minutes of other public bodies to be released.

Senat noted that the Oklahoma Meetings Act does not require a public body to approve the minutes, even though most times, the board does.

The dispersing of minutes before approval is not illegal, Senat said.

“The opinion never states that the OMA prohibits a public body from releasing its minutes prior to approval by the public body. Instead, the opinion notes the statute does not require public bodies to approve their meeting minutes,” said Senat.

In fact, Senat added that the Open Meetings Act was created for the public, therefore, it was not created to hide things from the public eye.

The state Supreme Court noted in the case of the International Association of Firefighters v. Thorpe, 1981, that since the Open Meeting Act was “enacted for the public’s benefit,” the statute “is to be construed liberally in favor of the public.” After Alexander restored order, he moved on claim items. One of the board members, Roy Methany was seeking clarification on some of the charges on the invoices; the Walmart invoice in particular.

“Can you explain some of the invoices,” Methany asked Stanley, “there are some personal items on the Walmart one.”

Stanley seemed a tad confused by Methany’s accusation and asked him to define what he was asking. Methany then pulled out the Walmart invoice and began to read some of the items on the list. “Rain X, Bounce, Prime Rib,” Methany said.

Stanley cut him off quick and asked, “what?”

Methany handed Stanley the invoice and repeated, “Prime rib. Prime strips, on the bottom there.”

Once Stanley read the invoice, he cleared up the confusion.

“Reli-on Prime Strips, those are our blood glucose strips,” Stanley explained.

Methany seemed satisfied with the answer given.

Methany then questioned the invoice for the car wash. Stanley informed Methany that it was due to one of the buses (units) getting a car wash. Methany asked why the EMT staff weren’t the ones washing the units on their down time. Stanley informed him that they discussed it at the last meeting, however, there was no vote. This led Stanley to continue the original protocol of bringing it to the car wash.

Methany then made a motion to pay the invoice, but in the future, have the EMT staff do it in their down time. The board voted on it and it passed, even though the second part of the motion was not on the agenda.

Alexander cited the Oklahoma Constitution, and the dire condition of the budget to support his reasoning for approving a non-agenda item.

“Per Oklahoma constitution 9C, the EMS Board is to give direction to the director / interim director for the proper management of the district,” Alxexander said. “As you are aware from attending the meetings the expenses are far exceeding revenues and depleting cash balances. It is the boards desire to look for cost saving measures for Marshall County EMS to be operable as the best service for all Marshall County residence and its visitors.”

Even though Alexander may have the MCEMS finance’s best interest at heart, Senat said the Oklahoma Statutes and Oklahoma Open Meetings Act is clear when it comes to approving non-agenda items.

According to the Oklahoma Statute title 25 subsection 311 (B)(1), the agenda must “identify all items of business to be transacted by a public body at a meeting.”

And the Oklahoma Attorney General opinion stated, “All matters to be discussed by a public body at a meeting must be listed on the agenda for the meeting.”

Senat also noted that board members must be careful because violating the OMA could carry fines if cited.

“In 2010, voting to take an action not listed on a special meeting’s agenda led to the three Boynton town trustees being charged with violating the Open Meeting Act,” Senat said. “They had voted to appoint a town manager even though no such item was on the agenda. All three pleaded guilty, with two receiving suspended one-year sentences and $500 fines each. The third received a deferred one-year sentence and a $250 fine.”