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Our view: Closed meeting ruling offers lesson

The state’s advisory opinion this month that Thomson Township supervisors violated the Open Meeting Law should be a reminder to all elected officials that closing meetings should be done sparingly and always with strict attention to the law.

In the case of Thomson Township, supervisors closed a September meeting to discuss candidates for the seat vacated by Jason Paulson in August. In private discussion, they whittled the number of candidates from six to three finalists.

Several mistakes were made, including the initial assumption that the board could apply a very narrow personnel exception to...