City and its mayor sought review of state ethics commission’s finding that prearranged, nonsocial, and subquorum gatherings of the mayor and city council in the mayor’s conference room violated the Open Meetings Act.
The Chancery Court affirmed. City and its mayor appealed.
The Supreme Court of Mississippi held that gatherings in question violated the Open Meetings Act.
Prearranged, nonsocial, and subquorum gatherings of mayor and city council in the mayor’s conference room to discuss retail development and renovations of a public building violated the Open Meetings Act, where the discussions were targeted at avoiding or circumventing the Act, public business was discussed at all of the gatherings, and the discussions led to official action by the quorum when they met.