PAC Determined that a City Committee was a Subsidiary Body Subject to OMA

A member of the public
submitted a “request for review” to the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor’s office (PAC) claiming that a City pool committee (Committee)
violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by holding meetings closed to the public
regarding building a new pool in the City. After analyzing a four-factor test
established by the Illinois Supreme Court to determine whether the Committee would constitute a “subsidiary body” subject to OMA requirements, the PAC concluded that the
Committee is a subsidiary body of the City subject to the requirements of OMA. PAC
Op. 25-007.

First, the PAC determined
that the Committee did not legally exist independently of the City, because
the City created the Committee as part of the City’s
planning process to construct a new pool in the City. Although the City argued the Committee was an informal advisory committee, the PAC stated that
labelling the Committee or its gatherings as “informal” does not shield its
gatherings or discussions about public business from OMA requirements.

Second, the PAC determined
that the City exerts a significant amount of government control over the
Committee, because the Mayor appoints the members of the Committee, the Committee’s recommendations are
subject to City Council approval, and the City has been directly involved in
and controlled multiple facets of Committee activities relating to building a
pool in the City, including providing assistance related to finance,
engineering and zoning, and parks and recreations matters.

Third, although the PAC noted that it was unclear
whether the Committee uses any public resources for its activities (e.g.,
holding meetings on city property), and the City noted that Committee members
are unpaid volunteers, the PAC asserted that the Committee receives at least
some indirect public funding by virtue of being part of the City, and City
officials and employees devote their time to supporting the Committee’s
activities.

Lastly, the PAC determined
that the City utilizes the Committee to perform governmental functions, because
the Committee is tasked with assessing the potential designs, costs, and
locations for a new City pool, and reporting its findings to the City, which
the PAC argued are roles typically performed by a municipal committee.

Post Authored by Eugene Bolotnikov, Ancel Glink