Outgoing Davison County Commission Chairman Dick Ziegler handed over the gavel to fellow Commissioner Jerry Fischer Tuesday, but not before receiving a complaint that a meeting last week was a violation of state open meetings laws.
The verbal complaint, lodged by J.P. Skelly of KORN Radio, charged that the commission's Dec. 30 afternoon session constituted an illegal special meeting since it was called without public notice. The morning session already had been adjourned and few persons, beyond the commissioners, knew of the reconvened session.
Ziegler said the meeting was reconvened in the public interest. It was important, he believed, to fix an incorrect motion before the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
At the afternoon meeting, the commissioners learned that they had incorrectly placed $500,000 in a capital accumulation account without specifying the use of those funds. The move was made to keep the general fund surplus below the recommended 40 percent maximum.
Following advice received during a telephone conference with Deene Dayton of the state Department of Legislative Audit, the commissioners eventually decided to move the $500,000 to the 2009 highway department budget.
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Ironically, the commissioners learned during that same phone conference that the incorrect resolution could have been amended at this week's meeting, which would have avoided the extra session.
Ziegler said the afternoon meeting was held at the courthouse, thus was open to the public, and no new business was conducted.
Notification was also an issue for the commissioners themselves.
Commissioner Gerald Weiss -- who did not attend the second meeting -- said he, like other commissioners, got a call from Ziegler about convening the afternoon meeting, but he never got an expected second call confirming the meeting, so he did not attend. The remaining four commissioners attended. Weiss and Ziegler both called the error a "miscommunication."
Fischer declined further comment and referred the complaint to State's Attorney Pat Smith for further investigation.
