ANDERSON — Indiana’s Public Access Counselor has determined the Madison County Board of Commissioners didn’t violate the state’s open door law when it decided to not extend the Commissioner’s Certificate Sale.
Because of a computer error in April, the sale of property ended earlier than was advertised.
Muncie resident Tom Terry filed a complaint with Luke Britt, the public access counselor, alleging that two commissioners met with the county attorney on April 11 and decided to not extend the sale.
Terry alleged because attorney Jeff Graham met with two of the three commissioners it was a legal meeting and was not properly advertised.
In his response, Graham said he did discuss the computer error during the certificate sale with two commissioners, but the discussions took place separately and didn’t take place in a meeting setting.
Graham said the two commissioners independently indicated they didn’t want to extend the sale.
In his opinion, Britt wrote that even if a majority of the board of county commissioners had met to discuss the sale it would not be a violation of the Open Door law because the decision was administrative.
“Deciding to not extend or close a lien sale is inherently administrative and related to the internal management of local government,” Britt said. “While the extension of the sale may result in revenue ramifications, the fact they may have met to discuss a logistical issue and made a spot decision based on a computer failure does not, in my opinion, prejudice the public in any tangible way. The Bard of Commissioners has the authority to conduct such meetings without notice as the executive of the county.”