Entry 555 of 954
By Think! Christiansburg On September 27, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Nearly 16 months ago, a special "training session" relative to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements spelled it out to Christiansburg Town Council and administrators. 

Even though an orientation on this subject was conducted for new members and employees, even though annual reminders are distributed each January.  Even though it's pretty clear to begin with.

Once again, it appears Christiansburg violates open meeting law.  Citizens have the right to be notified of every public meeting, and these notices should be sent a minimum of three business days before said meetings.  This includes committees. 

On Thursday, Sept. 24, at 4:18:15 PM, the town's web added a notice for a Finance Committee meeting on Monday, Sept. 28 at 8 am -- however, this notice wasn't sent out to citizens who had specifically requested notification nor via the spiffy new "Notify Me" feature on the upgraded town web site.  It's even a stretch to consider this three business days.  Nor was a previous notice sent relative to the Cemetery Committee which is proposing significant changes to operational policies and pricing. 

If the Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney, local mainstream media, Virginia Attorney General or the Virginia Coalition for Open Government isn't paying attention -- Christiansburg residents should be.   This doesn't seem to be following the "letter and intent" of this law, Mr. Mayor.