Jefferson City councilman files Sunshine Law complaint against city

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the nature of the complaint.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A first-term Jefferson City councilman has filed a complaint with the state against the city government alleging violations of open meetings and records laws.

Second Ward Councilman Aaron Mealy shared a copy of the complaint sent to the Missouri Attorney General's Office with ABC 17 News on Thursday. Mealy claims that notices of meetings with city council members on Oct. 17 and 18 over employee health care benefits were not posted ahead of time.

Those meetings were broken up to avoid having a quorum of city council members at any individual meeting, Mealy states.

"It could be inferred that proper meeting notice of the October 17th and October 18th meetings would have provided impacted parties with the appropriate information to become part of the public process and make informed decisions," Mealy wrote in the complaint.

The Attorney General's Office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The city government responded to ABC 17's request Friday morning, saying it has not seen the complaint.

"The City cannot provide a comment on this matter because the City has not been provided a copy of the complaint from either Councilmember Mealy or the Attorney General’s office," spokeswoman Molly Bryan wrote in a statement. "It is unfortunate that Councilmember Mealy did not extend the courtesy of providing the City a copy of the complaint or even discuss his concerns with City staff prior to filing the complaint or sharing the complaint with the media."

The city government released a statement about employee insurance changes Wednesday, saying no workers would be left without health coverage despite a shortfall in the fund that pays for claims.