Southeast flagged in state Sunshine Law audit

State Auditor Tom Schweich on Tuesday released a report that shows state and local governing bodies routinely violate Missouri's Sunshine Law.

Southeast Missouri State University was cited for not documenting its reasons for closing meetings and not demonstrating how some topics discussed in closed meetings complied with state law, according to a report summary.

The law requires the reasons for closing a meeting be announced publicly and entered into its minutes.

"A blanket statement which includes a potential issue(s) that may be discussed in a closed session appears to circumvent the intent of the law," the report says.

It recommends ensuring agendas state the specific reasons for going into a closed meeting.

"The university is aware of the issues referenced in the report," said Brady Barke, senior associate to Southeast's president and board of regents secretary, in an email. "The university agrees that motions to go into closed session should only reflect topics actually discussed. Since June 2010, motions to go into closed session have been changed to reflect only topics actually covered in the sessions and protected by the Sunshine Law.

"However, we believe the topics identified in the audit report should have been discussed in closed session due to personnel issues, contracts and negotiations of contracts."

Auditor Tom Schweich said about 15 percent of the nearly 300 audits he conducted during the past two years found some sort of violation of Missouri's open-meetings-and-records laws.

That's an improvement from the 19 percent problem rate for Sunshine Law compliance during audits conducted in 2010 and 2011, he said.

"Maybe things are getting a little better," Schweich told The Associated Press. He added: "That's not to say I'm happy with the fact that so many entities are still not complying."

The most common problems relate to decisions to hold closed meetings.

The Sunshine Law allows exceptions to open-meeting requirements for a variety of reasons, including discussions about legal actions, real estate transactions and the hiring, firing, discipline or promotion of particular employees.

The objective was to summarize recent audit issues and recommendations, a news release from the auditor's office states.

Spence Jackson, spokesman for Schweich, said it's surprising how many entities don't know the code exists.

"This is really just meant to be an opportunity to remind people of the importance of the Sunshine Law, why it exists, and why it's important to follow it," he said.

Nanci Gonder, spokeswoman for Attorney General Chris Koster, said people can file complaints about open meetings violations and the attorney general's office will look into them. Lawsuits also may be filed by people or local prosecutors.

Gonder said no complaints had been filed against Southeast in the past three years.

"What we generally try to do is to mediate so mistakes are not made in the future," Gonder said.

Formal meeting minutes were not prepared or maintained for some open and closed meetings, and minutes maintained did not always include sufficient detail, the release states. Minutes of affiliated boards, committees and commissions were not always prepared or maintained by the custodian of records. Several entities failed to document the reasons for closing meetings, the specific section of law that allowed for the closing, and votes regarding the meeting closure, the release says.

Schweich said there wasn't much evidence of intentional Sunshine Law violations. He said many violations appeared to be accidental or the result of a lack of training for public officials.

Perry and Scott County financial statements also were audited, according to the full report, which can be viewed at auditor.mo.gov/AuditReports/AudRpt2.aspx?id=57.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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