By Carleen Wild
Moody County Enterprise
Two members of the Egan City Board have filed a formal complaint alleging 32 violations of South Dakota’s Open Meetings laws, with the matter now pending before the state’s Open Meetings Commission.
Board members Michelle Ten Eyck and Jerome Olson submitted the complaint in November after raising concerns locally and, Ten Eyck said, seeing no corrective action.
The allegations center on claims that city business was discussed or decided outside of properly noticed public meetings, that agendas and minutes were not consistently posted in accordance with state timelines, and that residents were not always given clear or timely information about meetings and decisions.
Moody County State’s Attorney Paul Lewis confirmed his office received multiple complaints and forwarded them to the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office for presentation to the Open Meetings Commission.
“To guarantee that neither the complainants’ nor the respondents’ due process rights are violated, I will not be able to comment further on this matter,” Lewis said, directing additional questions to the Attorney General’s Office.
Egan Council President Cody Chamblin said, “The city has not received any violations or allegations to my knowledge,” and referred further comment to the city attorney.
Ten Eyck said concerns by fellow citizens about the council had her run for council in the first place. Her concerns grew after attending a municipal governance convention and reviewing state open meeting requirements.
“We came back realizing there were procedures we needed to tighten up,” she said.
“This isn’t about personalities. It’s about making sure we’re following the law and doing the public’s business in public.”
In many small rural communities, city boards are made up of residents juggling full-time jobs, and some municipalities historically operated with more informal communication practices. However, South Dakota’s Open Meetings laws apply uniformly, regardless of city size. Decisions must be made in properly noticed public meetings, and agendas must clearly reflect action items.
Government transparency has been a legislative focus this year for Attorney General Marty Jackley, who has supported measures aimed at strengthening open meeting requirements and public access to official proceedings. As transparency expectations evolve, it is likely more boards will have to adapt long-standing practices to public access expectations.
Ten Eyck said her goal remains straightforward.
“My hope is that we can improve transparency, that people want to come to our meetings, and that the law doesn’t continue to be broken anymore. We are stewards of the money for the city, here for the will of what the people want, not our own personal agenda.”
The Open Meetings Commission will determine whether further action is warranted.
Leave a Reply