August 23, 2007 08:33 PM UTC

Canyon Courier Settles Suit With Jefferson County

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Canyon Courier newspaper has claimed victory in its lawsuit filed when Jefferson County Commissioners held private meetings in violation of the open meetings law. As The Courier reports:

The Jefferson County commissioners on Tuesday acknowledged on a split vote that the three commissioners violated the Colorado Open Meetings Law when they met with a group of employees July 5 to discuss the county budget crunch without properly posting public notice of the gathering.

Democratic Commissioner Kathy Hartman and Republican Commissioner Kevin McCasky voted to direct assistant county attorney Ellen Wakeman to finalize a settlement agreement with Landmark Community Newspapers, the parent company of the Canyon Courier, Columbine Courier and High Timber Times.

The company sued the county last month after a Courier reporter happened upon the meeting, which all three commissioners attended but for which no public notice was given.

Republican Commissioner Jim Congrove voted against the settlement proposal.

Under the Colorado Open Meetings Law, it is illegal for a quorum of the commissioners to meet and discuss any county business without first giving 24 hours notice to the public.

Under the terms of the agreement, the commissioners acknowledge they violated the open meetings law and agree to follow all of the law’s provisions in all future meetings. The county also agrees to pay for the newspaper’s legal expenses in bringing the suit.

None of the three commissioners was willing to comment about the decision following the meeting. Hartman, who ran her election campaign at least partly on a platform of open government, twice declined to discuss the Courier’s litigation Tuesday; however, she previously acknowledged that the board was wrong to meet without posting notice.

McCasky, who has vehemently denied the board did anything wrong at the July 5 meeting, also declined to comment. He previously told the Courier he did not believe the press should attend budget meetings between commissioners and employees, saying he believed the closed meeting was justified because it was intended as “informational” only.

It’s interesting that “I Am the Law” McCasky voted to approve the settlement but Congrove did not.