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Complaints need review
By David Gerard, Muskogee Phoenix
We think the state should establish a board to review citizen complaints that public boards are violating the Open Meeting Act and give the review board authority to assign penalties and force compliance with the act.
Many times in the recent past in the Muskogee area, there have been allegations of violations.
The Phoenix reported last year on questionable actions by the Northeastern Oklahoma Health Care Center board of directors in Hulbert and the Muskogee City Council. The latest complaint centers around this spring’s actions by Muskogee Regional Medical Center’s board of trustees in accepting the resignation of its former President and CEO Tony Armstrong and a vote that approved severance pay for him.
The health care board, the Muskogee council and hospital board contend they did nothing wrong, but allegations require police investigations and then reviews by district attorneys. Both police and DAs have plenty to do and few resources, so alleged violations of the Open Meeting Act get little attention beyond the stories written in newspapers.
Boards should be made to follow the act, though. It’s the law and it’s a good one.
The act is supposed to ensure all public transactions and actions are conducted so that anyone in the community can know about them or find out what decisions were made. The act is supposed to keep boards free of coercion from private interests and make the boards accountable for public monies.
The MRMC board conducted an emergency meeting when Armstrong submitted his resignation. But there was no emergency. Armstrong wasn’t leaving for 30 days, and the hospital had an established succession order. The board also approved severance pay for Armstrong, but its records do not reflect a severance pay vote in either an emergency, special or regular meeting.
The MRMC board reported it took action after consulting its attorney. But even attorneys don’t always understand the act or interpret it to favor their constituents.
We need a review board to handle alleged violations of the Open Meeting Act, and the Open Records Act. We need to review complaints soon after they are made, not months later — which usually means they are never reviewed at all.
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