All regularly scheduled, continued or reconvened, special or emergency meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be preceded by public notice as follows.
(A) The Board of Trustees shall give notice in writing by December 15 of each calendar year of the schedule showing the date, time and place of the regularly scheduled meetings of the Board of Trustees for the following calendar year. This provision, as well as all other provisions of this section, apply to the town’s Public Works Authority’s Board of Trustees, as well as the town’s Board of Trustees.
(B) Both Boards of Trustees specified in division (A) above shall give such notice to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer.
(C) The town’s Clerk-Treasurer shall keep a record of all notices received in a register open to the public for inspection during regular office hours and, in addition, shall make known, upon any request of any person, the contents of said register.
(D) If any change is to be made of the date, time or place of regularly scheduled meetings of public bodies, then notice in writing shall be given to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer not less than ten days prior to the implementation of any change.
(E) In addition to the advance public notice in writing required to be filed for a regularly scheduled meeting, the Board of Trustees shall, at least 24 hours prior to such meeting, display public notice of said meeting, setting forth thereon the date, time, place and agenda for said meeting. Such 24 hours’ prior public posting shall exclude Saturdays and Sundays and holidays legally declared by the state. The posting of an agenda shall not preclude the Board of Trustees from considering at its regularly scheduled meeting any new business. Such public notice shall be posted in prominent public view at the principal office of the Board of Trustees or at the location of the meeting in the event no office exists. NEW BUSINESS, as used herein, shall mean any matter not known about or which could not have been reasonably foreseen prior to the time of posting.
(F) In the event any meeting is to be continued or reconvened, public notice of such action, including date, time and place of the continued meeting, shall be given by announcement at the original meeting. Only matters appearing on the agenda of the meeting which is continued may be discussed at the continued or reconvened meeting.
(G) Special meetings of the Board of Trustees shall not be held without public notice being given at least 48 hours prior to the meetings. Such public notice of date, time and place shall be given in writing, in person or by telephonic means to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees also shall cause written notice of the date, time and place of the meeting to be mailed or delivered to each person, newspaper, wire service, radio station and television station that has filed a written request for notice of meetings of the Board of Trustees with the town’s Clerk-Treasurer. Such written notice shall be mailed or delivered at least 48 hours prior to the special meeting. In addition, the Board of Trustees shall, at least 24 hours prior to such special meeting, display public notice of said meeting, setting forth the date, time, place and agenda for the meeting. Only matters appearing on the posted agenda may be considered at said special meeting. Such public notice shall be posted in prominent public view at the principal office of the Board of Trustees or at the location of the meeting if no office exists. Twenty four hours’ prior public posting shall exclude Saturdays and Sundays and holidays legally declared by the state.
(H) In the event of an emergency, an emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees may be held without the public notice heretofore required. Should an emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees be necessary, the person calling such meeting shall give so much advance public notice as is reasonable and possible under the circumstances existing, in person or by telephone or electronic means.
(I) Agendas for meetings must be worded in plain language, directly stating the purpose of the meeting, in order to give the public accurate notice. The language used should be simple, direct and comprehensive to a person of ordinary education and intelligence.
(Prior Code, § 1-6-4)