Templeton Board of Selectmen

c/o Carter Terenzini

Town Administrator

160 Patriots Road, P.O. Box 620

East Templeton, MA 01438

By e-mail only: cterenzini@templetonma.gov

RE: Open Meeting Law Complaint

Dear Mr. Terenzini:

This office received a complaint from Robert May on July 1, 2020, alleging that the

Templeton Board of Selectmen (the “Board”) violated the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §§

18-25, as modified by Governor Charles Baker’s March 12 order temporarily suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law. 1 The complaint was originally filed with the Board on June 1, and you responded, on behalf of the Board, by letter dated June 24. 2020 The complaint alleges that the Board violated the Open Meeting Law when it held a meeting on May 27 and did not provide the public with real-time access.

Following our review, we find that the Board violated the Open Meeting Law as alleged.

In reaching this determination, we reviewed the original complaint, the Board’s response to the

complaint, and the request for further review filed with our office. In addition, we reviewed the

notice and open session minutes of the May 27 meeting, as well as a video recording of that

meeting.

1 All dates in this letter refer to the year 2020.

2 We take this opportunity to remind the Board that the Open Meeting Law requires that within 14 business days of receipt of a complaint, a public body must meet to review the complaint’s allegations; take remedial action, if appropriate; send to the complainant a response and a description of any remedial action taken; and send to the Attorney General a copy of the complaint and a description of a any remedial action taken. G.L. c. 30A, § 23(b); 940 CMR 29.05(5).

See OML Declination 8-7-2019 (Pepperell Board of Selectmen). Here, the Board did not respond to the complaint until June 24, although its response was due June 19. We remind the Board of its obligations under the Law.

(working on posting the complaint / response in its entirety)