Tuesday, March 10, 2009

BOFPC Special Meeting - Thursday

The Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners has scheduled a Special Meeting for Thursday, March 12, 2009, at 5:00PM.

The meeting of this Board is an open and public meeting. The meeting is held at police headquarters, 656 Lake Avenue, Woodstock. To attend the meeting, enter through the front door of police headquarters and inform the telecommunicator (dispatcher) that you are there to attend the Board meeting.

The meeting is held on the second floor of police headquarters, in the conference room of the police chief.

Although this meeting is held in a secure location, admissible only through a locked security door and only by escort from the lobby to the conference room, it is a public meeting. Do not be intimidated by the barriers to access.

Be aware that your presence is audio- and video-taped.

The Office of the Attorney General has been consulted as to whether these are really "open" meetings. It's a grey area. The public can get to the meeting, if it is willing to put up with the inconvenience of entering a locked and secure area and being required to follow an escort to the meeting room.

Personally, I believe these meetings should be conducted at City Hall, as are other public meetings of the City.

Also be aware that you will be asked to step outside the meeting room while the Board conducts its Executive Session on a personnel issue. However, you will be re-admitted to the meeting to hear the decision, if any, reached by the Board when it met privately. The Board must audio-tape the Executive Session and preserve the recording.

This is public business of the City of Woodstock. If you wish to know what's going on, be there.

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