CAMDEN — As reported last week in the Camden News, the Camden City Council’s decision to go behind closed doors to discuss the city clerk’s salary violated state law.
The reason given for going into executive session was that it was a “personnel” matter, not the first or only time a local government mistakenly used the “personnel” reason in violation of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The FOIA specifically states, as reported in the Camden News article, that elected bodies can go into executive session “only for the purpose of considering employment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining, or resignation of any public officer or employee.” It does not allow discussion of salaries, despite elected officials’ possible feeling that such matters are sensitive, to be held in secret session.
We repeat in this editorial the report of the violation because it is not the only one to have recently occurred. A couple of previous violations involved failures to notify the Camden News of meetings as required under the FOIA.
Some might see the infractions as minor, but we do not, for a couple of reasons. One, elected officials should be knowledgeable of the rules under which they operate. Secondly, elected bodies should operate according to all laws at all times.
We concede that aldermen might not have realized that going into executive session to discuss the clerk’s salary was breaking the law.
But they should have known it.
Booklets explaining the FOIA are available. We encourage all local officials to familiarize themselves with the state law so such violations are not repeated.