Peoria decision to act in secrecy might violate law, attorneys say

By Jackee Coe | The Republic | azcentral.com

The Peoria City Council will cast secret ballots instead of holding a public vote to appoint candidates to fill council vacancies, a change that raises concerns about transparency for some experts.

The application, interview and discussion process still will be done in public but now council members will make their final decisions in a secret ballot.

City Attorney Steve Kemp said the change, which the council approved unanimously last month, aligns the process with how the council selects the vice mayor and mayor pro tem. In that situa­tion, council members nominate candidates and discuss them publicly, and then each member casts a secret ballot. The votes are tabulated by the city clerk and then the winner/decision is announced publicly. But voting by secret ballot could violate the Arizona Open Meeting Law and create issues of transparency and accountability, some First Amendment attorneys said. The law requires public bodies to take public votes for any “legal action that binds the public body,” defined as a “collective decision, commitment or promise.” That includes appointing someone to fill a vacancy, they said.