County Commission to hold Emergency Meeting over Water Situation

One Reply to “County Commission to hold Emergency Meeting over Water Situation”

1. Thank you Commissioners for helping the community with the water crisis. Thank you Commissioners for enacting a burn ban during the drought. Why does one merit an emergency meeting and one merits no meeting whatsoever? Who and how was it decided to ban burning? If it wasn’t done in a properly noticed meeting, even an emergency meeting, then it was a violation of the open government law. In the minimal notice posted to the County Commission facebook page and shared numerous times, including on this site, there was a WV Code referenced. The referenced code was an enabling statute that allows county commissions to enact ordinances or enter orders to deal with public nuisances, in this case fires. The referenced code did not authorize or approve a violation of the open government code nor did it override the open government code. Enacting an ordinance to ban burning could have and should have been the topic of an emergency meeting, not decided outside the view of the public. Even if the reason for an act is beyond reproach, the act itself is tainted by the violation. The burn ban fails if challenged because the enactment of the ordinance was done outside the public eye in violation of the open government act. It’s an easy fix, add it to the agenda or have another emergency meeting. Thank you Commissioners for the thought but the implementation was flawed. Your legal advisor, the County Prosecutor should have caught this. Then again…

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