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Public Meetings Law

Potential Public Meetings Law violation

There are mandatory prerequisites for submitting Public Meetings Law Complaints to Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC). These prerequisites also apply to executive session provision complaints.

If you fail to satisfy the mandatory prerequisites before filing your complaint with OGEC, your complaint will be dismissed.

Required states to file complaints:

  1. Submit a grievance. The written grievance must include:
    1. Date of submission of the grievance.
    2. The name and contact information of the person filing the grievance (anonymous complaints are not accepted).
    3. The date that the alleged violation of the Public Meetings Law occurred.
    4. A description of the facts and circumstances of the alleged violation of ORS 192.610 - 192.705.

The written grievance must be submitted to the public body within 30 calendar days of when the alleged violation occurred (OAR 199-0500-0070(2)).

   2. Wait for a response. The public body has 21 calendar days to respond to your written grievance. The response should acknowledge the receipt of the written grievance and address it in one of the following ways:

        a. Deny the facts and circumstances alleged in the grievance. Provide the public body's version of events and why those facts are not a violation of the law.

        b. Admit to the facts and circumstances alleged in the grievance but deny that they are a violation of the law.

        c. Admit to the facts and circumstances alleged in the grievance and that they were a violation of the law. Explain the steps the governing body will take to address the violation.

Once you receive the response from the public body, or if you do not receive a response within 21 days of filing your grievance, you can move on to filing a complaint with OGEC. (ORS 192.70(2)

If you receive a response that satisfies your grievance, you can work with the public body and do not need to file a complaint. If you don't receive a response within 21 days or if you are dissatisfied with response you received, you can file a complaint with OGEC.

To file a complaint with OGEC, you are required to include documentation that you have completed the mandatory prerequisites (steps 1 and 2).

You can submit a complaint on the Cases & Complaints webpage. 

You must include:

  1. A copy of the written grievance.
  2. A copy of the public body's response.
  3. If no response was received, an affirmation that you did not receive a response within the 21-day period.

If you fail to satisfy the mandatory prerequisites before filing your complaint with OGEC, your complaint will be dismissed. (ORS 192.685(3))

Public body grievance response requirements

There are also reporting duties for public bodies. In particular, when a public body receives a written grievance from a person alleging its governing body may have violated Public Meetings Law, it must provide a written response to the person within 21 days. The written response should acknowledge receipt of the grievance in one of the following ways:

Deny facts and violation

  1. Deny the facts described in the grievance.
  2. Describe the public body's version of the facts.
  3. Explain why the facts do not violate Public Meetings Law.

ORS 192.705(2)(b)(A)

Admit facts & deny violation

  1. ​Admit to the facts described in the grievance.
  2. Deny that the facts are a violation.
  3. Explain why the facts are not a violation of Public Meetings Law.

ORS 192.705(2)(b)(B)

Admit the facts described in the grievance.

  1. Admit that there was a olation of Public Meetings Law.
  2. Describe what the governing body will do to address or fix it.

This includes what steps the body will take to remedy the violation and prevent it from re-occurring. Examples of this could include:

  • Vote violation: re-notice meeting and redo vote within 45 days of original meeting.
  • Serial meeting violation: hold a public meeting and read any email or restate any conversations or text messages.
  • Recordings violation: Fix minutes or make recordings public.
  • Noticing violation: re-notice and hold meeting again.
  • Accommodation violation: re-notice and hold meeting in an accessible location or with interpreters.
  • Identify what practices and/or processes will be changed.
  • Identify if any training will occur.

These are simply examples - how to address the violation will depend on the scenario. We recommend contacting our office for advice if you have a specific situation you would like to address. ORS 192.705(2)(b)(C)

For further assistance or alternative ways to submit your complaint contact.

Carla Duering, Deputy City Recorder
info [at] cityofdepoebay.org (info[at]cityofdepoebay[dot]org) 
541-265-7361
570 SE Shell Avenue, Depoe Bay OR 97341

City Hall Hours: Monday – Thursday 8 AM to 4 PM. Fridays are appointment only.

Additional resources

These additional resources are available to help public officials comply with Public Meetings Law.

Links and statues:

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