Commissioners Joined Suit In Secret

Two Spokane County commissioners acted illegally by secretly signing an agreement to join lawsuits being prepared by District Court judges and the prosecutor, an attorney says.

The action violated the state’s open meetings - or “sunshine” - law, said Duane Swinton, who represents The Spokesman-Review.

A county lawyer denied any wrongdoing. But to be on the “safe side,” chief civil attorney Jim Emacio has called a public meeting for 2 p.m. today so the commissioners can “reaffirm” their action.

In an private meeting Jan. 12, commissioners John Roskelley and Phil Harris signed a resolution authorizing the judges and prosecutor to include the county in lawsuits against the Washington Public Employment Relations Commission.

The meeting itself was not illegal because state law allows closed-door meetings to discuss personnel matters and impending litigation.

Commissioner Steve Hasson refused to sign the resolution, however, saying he wasn’t sure the county should get involved and believing that acting in secret was illegal.

Marshall Farnell, the county’s budget officer, said he didn’t know what the fuss was about because commissioners have signed resolutions during private meetings for “25 years.”

Washington law states that “no governing body of a public agency shall adopt any ordinance, resolution, regulation, order, or directive, except in a meeting open to the public …”

“This should have been done in open session, and they know that,” Swinton said. “The intent of the statute is to ensure that decisions which affect the public interest are not made behind closed doors.”

Washington law also states that any action taken during a closed meeting is null and void, Swinton said.

Emacio said state law allows some exclusions to the state open meetings law. But the case law he cited does not apply to this case, Swinton said.

“I believe what we’ve done is lawful,” Emacio said. “There is no question that what we have done is not a violation.”

Commissioners Harris and Roskelley said they were acting on the attorney’s advice and didn’t know they might be violating the state’s sunshine law.

They added that the commission is not taking sides in the squabble between unionized employees and the judges and prosecutor.

“To me, you have two different bodies that have disagreement as to how the law is written, and the employees are caught in the middle,” Roskelley said. “Let’s go to the highest court in Washington and get a legal opinion.”

, DataTimes