KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – This is “Sunshine Week” in Michigan, the time we celebrate our rights to have open public meetings and access to governmental documents.
That’s why a complaint made this week that the Kalamazoo County board may have violated the Open Meetings Act is so timely.
A county investigation is underway.
Apparently, the elevators in the County Administration building haven’t been working, making the Board Room on the 2nd floor less accessible to those with disabilities.
Resident Zach Lasiter told commissioners he thinks that’s a violation.
County Attorney Lewis Smith gave the commissioners the advice you would expect from a lawyer.
The county set up a room on the first floor of the Administration Building where residents could watch the meeting on TV, and they have a standing policy that they take call-in comments during meetings.
The Open Meetings Act requires that public bodies make their meetings accessible to all members of the public and provide special accommodation to make that happen.
Whether the county’s satellite observation room meets that standard could be for a judge to decide, if the matter gets that far.
County commissioners approved a resolution in support of Sunshine Week during their evening meeting last night.
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