Mat-Su seeks local control over some state-mandated open meeting rules

What you need to know:

• The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly approved a resolution Tuesday asking state lawmakers to let local governments decide whether their advisory boards must abide by state open meeting laws.
• The resolution, sponsored by Assembly member Dmitri Fonov, seeks to allow the borough to exempt Road Service Area and Fire Service Area boards from open meeting requirements. Fonov said those rules hamper effective board operations.
• The approved resolution does not change borough law. Such a step can only be considered if the state makes the requested change. The measure initially failed 3-2 but was later reconsidered and passed 4-1 after Assembly member Maxwell Sumner changed his vote, saying he supports local control but not necessarily the exemption itself. Assembly member Stephanie Nowers voted no both times.

PALMER - A resolution approved Tuesday by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly asks state lawmakers to let local governments decide whether their advisory boards may be exempt from state open meeting rules.

State law prohibits members of most local boards, councils and assemblies from coordinating outside of a public meeting. It does not allow local governments to change those rules.

The resolution approved Tuesday requests local governments be given the authority to exempt service area advisory boards from the regulation. The resolution was sponsored by Assembly member Dmitri Fonov, whose district includes portions of Wasilla and Palmer. It passed 4-1, with Assembly member Stephanie Nowers voting "no." Nowers' district includes Palmer.

The resolution does not change how the borough advisory boards currently operate, officials said. Such a change could only be considered if the state updates the law to allow local control, Borough Attorney Nick Spiropoulos told the Assembly.

Road maintenance and firefighting services in Mat-Su are provided through service districts, where residents pay additional taxes to cover the costs. Operations are overseen by volunteer Fire Service Area and Road Service Area boards, which advise borough staff and the assembly on needed changes and funding requirements. All final decisions regarding fire and road service area operations and tax rates are made by the assembly.

FSA and RSA boards are typically assigned three seats each under borough law, but positions often go unfilled. For example, four of the borough's eight FSA boards and five of its 16 RSA boards are currently short one member, while the Sutton FSA and Knik RSA boards have no members, according to the borough's website.

State open meeting laws prohibit advisory board members from coordinating on official business outside public meetings.

Fonov said exempting the advisory boards from that standard is necessary because their small size means members risk violating the law just by communicating with one another.

“Does that mean they have to schedule a separate meeting right at the intersection, or do they have to get a special bus where people who want to join the meeting drive together? I mean, it’s nonsense, honestly,” Fonov said during the meeting. “If the state was to give us the ability to control it, then we could figure out the case-by-case basis for how we apply this rule.”'

The measure initially failed Tuesday in a 3-2 vote, with “no” votes from Nowers and Maxwell Sumner, whose district includes Wasilla. State law requires a four-vote majority for such measures to pass. 

Assembly members Dee McKee and Tim Hale were absent from the meeting. McKee's district includes parts of Palmer and Wasilla, and Hale's includes Butte.

Fonov asked for reconsideration, and Sumner changed his vote to allow the resolution to move forward.

Nowers and Sumner said they oppose the rule change because they believe residents should have full transparency into how their tax dollars are spent.

Sumner said he changed his vote because he believes local governments should have control over such rules. He said he does not support exempting RSA boards from open meeting requirements.

“Me changing my vote is not me agreeing that we should be operating RSA boards without the Open Meetings Act. That’s me just saying we should have the choice,” Sumner said in an interview. 

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at abushatz@matsusentinel.com