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2016 Op. Del. Att'y Gen. [1] (2016)

handle is hein.sag/sagde0063 and id is 1 raw text is: 



        OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
                     Attorney General Opinion No. 16-IB01

                                January 7, 2016


VIA EMAIL

Mr. Daniel Kramer
8041 Scotts Store Road
Greenwood, DE 19950
djmjkramer@gmail.com (mailto:djmjkramer@gmail.com)


Dear Mr. Kramer,
The Delaware Department ofjustice (DOJ) received your letter alleging that the Sussex
County Personnel Board (Board) and the Sussex County Council (Council) violated
the open meeting provisions of Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. §§
10001 -10007 (FOIA). We treat this letter as a petition for a determination of whether a
violation of FOIA has occurred or is about to occur (the Petition). 29 Del. C. § 10005(e).
For the reasons detailed below, we conclude that neither the Board nor Council violated
FOIA's open meeting provisions.
                                   FACTS[ 11

      On or about March 30, 201 5, the Board held a public hearing to discuss and
consider the Sussex County Pay Plan for Fiscal Year 2016. Notice for the meeting was
posted on March 12, 2015 at the Board's principal office and on the first floor of the
County Administration Building.[2] The Board also provided notice of the meeting
online on Sussex County's website and in two newspapers of record: the Delaware State
News on March 14, 2015, and the Wilmington NewsJournal on March 15, 2015. At that
meeting, the Board recommended that the County Administrator review the proposed
Pay Plan and present it to the Council for consideration. The Board's recommendation
was made in public at the March hearing. The County Administrator then reviewed the
Pay Plan and incorporated it into the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2016.

As part of the budgeting process, the Council held a budget workshop on April 23,
201 5. The Petition alleges that during the April 23, 201 5 meeting, a Sussex County
employee stated that pay grades and salaries could not be discussed during the public
session portion of the workshop and needed to be discussed in executive session.

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