Town Council members Rebecca McGhee and Michelle Covert filed a suit in Louisa County General District Court seeking enforcement of FOIA law over alleged violations by Mineral town staff, The Central Virginian reported.
The suit said Mineral Mayor Pam Harlowe and FOIA Officer Teresa Newton did not abide by transparency standards, including “providing public notice of meetings, adopting and following agendas, complying with rules for electronic participation, and ensuring the committee meetings are open to the public.”
Covert and McGhee argued that the officials’ failure to take these steps prevented them from rightfully and fully participating in their own town government.
Town officials held a vote earlier this year to terminate the contract of the town manager on a vote of 4-3.
The Mercury’s efforts to track FOIA and other transparency cases in Virginia are indebted to the work of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit alliance dedicated to expanding access to government records, meetings and other state and local proceedings.
Covert and McGhee questioned whether that vote was legitimate, due to the council’s alleged lack of adherence to the town’s electronic meeting attendance policy. The termination was also not listed on the public agenda, the plaintiffs argue.
A special meeting between the council and planning commission concerning zoning is another issue named in the suit.
Covert and McGhee alleged that there was no agenda for the meeting prepared, adopted or published. During this meeting, the mayor accepted a resolution to declare that Mineral formally opposed the Valley Link Transmission Line project.
McGhee and Covert said leaders’ failure to operate transparently invalidated the resolution.
An allegation that a council member refused to share documents with local journalist Tammy Purcell of the Engage Louisa newsletter is also included in the lawsuit.
