The mayor says “there’s still a gray area in the interpretation” of open meeting law as it relates to electronic communication.

What’s in a meeting?
Minnesota courts haven’t ruled on whether e-mail communication falls under the open meeting law.

The state’s Information Policy Analysis Division, or IPAD, issues advisory opinions about whether public bodies have violated public information or open meeting laws.

In an online Power Point presentation to cities, it says “it is likely that the court would analyze use of e-mail in the same way as it has telephone conversations and letters.”

Laurie Beyer-Kropuenske, IPAD’s director, said citizens sometimes suspect their officials have been privately e-mailing back and forth, but they can’t prove it.

This could take the form of a so-called “serial meeting,” where council members set up sequential one-on-one meetings, perhaps to forge a consensus on an upcoming issue. Serial meetings are specifically noted as illegal in open meeting law.

As for e-mails, Beyer-Kropuenske said it’s clearly acceptable for public officials to share information with each other.

An unresolved question is how much, if at all, the e-mails can include conversations about public issues.

Walking the e-line
A look at Mankato Councilman Mark Frost’s city e-mail account shows an upcoming item — plans to deal with a state budget crisis, in this case — sent from City Manager Pat Hentges. Replies from council members are brief, usually only a word or two.

North Mankato Councilman Bill Schindle said he rarely uses his city e-mail account, except as notification the meeting packet is available for download.

“If I got somethin’ to say, I’m going to say it in front of the camera,” he said, referring to videotaped public meetings.

Wortel, on the Blue Earth County Board, said her fellow commissioners are probably used to getting her forwarded e-mails. But she says it’s “pretty rare” that discussion about public issues happen over e-mail.

One-way standard
In 2007, the League of Minnesota Cities released a fact sheet about electronic communication and has some suggestions.

Among them: Use e-mail only to transmit information one-way, always from city staff to council members.

“Using the clerk as the clearinghouse for information distribution is probably a safer alternative than having council members communicate directly, though it doesn’t completely eliminate concerns about violating open meeting law,” the fact sheet states.