The Complainant alleged that the Board violated the OMA when it discussed his job performance during executive session at its April 9, 2019 meeting without prior notification to him pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(1). It was undisputed that the Board did not provide the requisite notice to...
The North Scituate Volunteer Fire Department #1 requested an advisory opinion regarding whether they are a "public body" under the APRA and the OMA. We concluded that the Department was a "public body" under the APRA but was not a "public body" under the OMA.
The Complainant proffered several allegations that the Town violated the APRA in connection with his multi-part APRA request. The Complainant alleged that the Town "heavily redacted" a number of documents and failed to reference the particular APRA provision(s) upon which it relied in making the...
The Complainant alleged that the Fire District violated the OMA at its June 1, 2015 meeting when it voted to extend a Lease that was not listed on the agenda and when the minutes failed to indicate each Fire District member's individual vote. The undisputed evidence revealed that the Fire District...
Complainant alleged the Governor's Office violated the APRA when it withheld documents responsive to its APRA request for documents related to the proposed extension of the IGT contract. Based on this Office's in camera review, we concluded that the Governor's Office properly withheld a number of...
The Complainant alleged that the School Committee violated the OMA when it (1) convened into executive session to discuss candidates for the open superintendent position; (2) did not disclose votes taken in executive session; and (3) convened a rolling quorum about the superintendent position at a...
The Complainant alleged the Department violated the APRA when it did not produce a specific audio recording in response to Complainant's APRA request. We determined there is no evidence to suggest that the Department maintains the specific audio recording the Complainant seeks and the Complainant...
The Complainant alleged that the Town Council violated the OMA when an agenda item did not sufficiently specify the nature of the business to be discussed. The evidence indicated that the Town Council discussed and voted on the purchase of a new police vehicle – as described in the agenda item –...
The Complainant alleged that the Town violated the OMA when it convened into executive session on multiple occasions to discuss the disposition of town owned property. During the pendency of this Complaint, this Office issued Fortin v. Narragansett Town Council, OMA 19-41, which found that the...
The Complainant alleged the City violated the APRA when it withheld two (2) police reports she requested. The City argued that these reports pertained to criminal investigations that did not result in arrests and that disclosure of these reports would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal...
