The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has declined to take any action over an allegation that the Warrenton Board of Aldermen improperly discussed a consulting contract outside of the public’s view.

In late 2020, Warrenton city leaders announced that then-City Administrator Terri Thorn planned to retire in April 2021, and that then-Director of Operations Brandie Walters would be promoted in her place. However, in January 2021, aldermen also approved a separate contract with Thorn to retain her as an outside consultant for 12 months after her retirement.

As The Record reported at the time, there was no discussion of the contract during the meeting where aldermen voted to approve it. Aldermen later told The Record that they had discussed the need for, and general details of, the contract during a December 2020 closed session — a portion of meetings that the public is not allowed to attend.

That set off a complaint from local government reform advocate Joshua Poore, who contacted the Missouri Attorney General’s Office to initiate a review of the situation, The Record recently learned. Poore alleged that aldermen violated the Sunshine Law, Missouri’s open meetings statute, by improperly excluding the public from discussion of an outside consulting contract, a topic that is usually part of the public record.

The result of the attorney general office’s review, released on Jan. 31, 2022, indicates the office is not taking any enforcement action over the complaint.

“We have encouraged the governmental body to pursue our office’s resources to assist its efforts in complying with the Sunshine Law,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Brian Earll.

A copy of the review was provided to The Record by Poore. Included in the document is a written response to the complaint written by City Attorney Christopher Graville. In it, Graville states that Thorn’s retirement was driven by the COVID pandemic and was “unexpected” by the mayor, board of aldermen and city staff.

“The city ... needed to make immediate decisions regarding the leadership of the city,” Graville wrote, adding that as part of her promotion, “Walters and the board of aldermen agreed that it would be beneficial to request Thorn to assist in a consulting role to support Walters’ success.”

The consulting contract with Thorn was created based on statements between Walters and the aldermen during closed session, and not based on any negotiations with Thorn herself, Graville wrote.

However, the assertion that Thorn’s retirement and Walters’ promotion were unexpected, and that hurried closed session meetings were necessary to discuss Walters’ needs as administrator, are seemingly contradicted by the city’s own statements surrounding the transition.

Here’s a direct quote from the October 2020 announcement of Thorn’s retirement and Walters’ promotion:

“This decision is the culmination of three years of succession planning by the board of aldermen and the mayor to continue the implementation of the vision and goals of the city.”

That same announcement also stated that there was already an understanding that Thorn would be retained as a consultant (although the aldermen had yet to formalize that agreement).

And here’s a quote from the official minutes of the December 2020 closed session meeting referenced in the Sunshine complaint:

“The board reviewed the consulting agreement from Terri Thorn that would begin April 2, 2021. It outlines what services she will provide and what capacity she will work for the city. This agreement will be approved with an ordinance at the first meeting in January.”

Despite the city’s formal response to the Sunshine Law complaint, this record seems to confirm that aldermen were, in fact, discussing the details of a non-employee consulting agreement in a meeting that was closed to the public.

The Record contacted Warrenton city leaders to ask for any further information about the complaint, and received this reply from Administrator Brandie Walters:

“The city was notified by the Attorney General’s Office that, after investigation and review, the complaint was closed without action. The city strives to provide the highest level of operational transparency, and this commitment was reaffirmed by the objective review of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. The city encourages active engagement with local government and will continue to use citizen feedback to develop more efficient and transparent operations.”