Maries County Sheriff says City of Belle continues to violate Sunshine Law
BELLE, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Maries County Sheriff believes the City of Belle is continuing to break Sunshine Laws. A petition was filed last week by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office alleging that the City of Belle violated open meeting laws.
The City of Belle held an "Emergency Special Closed Meeting" on Dec. 21 and Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman says they are still violating the sunshine law.
A video posted by Sheriff Heitman on Facebook shows people gathered in front of Belle City Hall in frustration about this meeting not being open to the public. In this post Sheriff Heitman says, "I urge the City of Belle to stop violating the sunshine law. Are you aware the city is currently facing over $100,000 in fines for violations already?"
The Sheriff says he wants the city to be as transparent as possible and that he even sent city officials advice to help prevent this incident from happening.
"I sent them a copy of the Sunshine Law statute and I just basically gave some advice that, if in doubt, you know, do things in open session and be transparent about what you're doing," Heitman told ABC 17 News.
The lawsuit claims, “Mayor Darryl White has failed to ensure that the Missouri Open Meetings Law has been complied with.”
The investigation into the City of Belle was encouraged after complaints were filed by Sheriff Heitman and submitted Dec. 9, 2022. The petition from the office of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is 23 pages long, filled with multiple violations of the Open Meetings Law between January and July of 2022.
In this petition, five counts of violations are cited. Count 1 regards that there were multiple public meetings when the board and mayor failed to give the public notice. Count 2, several meeting violations for discussing items not on the agenda. Count 3, journal and records violations where minutes were not logged. Count 4, the city allegedly had a closed session to discuss purchasing a K9 officer who has no reason to be closed. Count 5, minutes from specific sections were not logged regarding.
The Belle Mayor is also facing two misdemeanor charges, separate from the lawsuit filed by the Missouri Attorney General.
