The city of Marthasville is getting attention from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office over a complaint alleging the city improperly excluded the public from a board of aldermen discussion, and also failed to record procedural votes in the city’s official records.

The complaint was filed by Josh Poore, a frequent critic of local governments and an advocate for local government reforms. Poore alleges the city has run afoul of Missouri’s open records and open meetings law, known as the Sunshine Law.

In December, the Marthasville Board of Aldermen and mayor stated they would hold a discussion in closed session concerning nomination of an interim alderman to fill a board vacancy. Closed session means members of the public were not allowed to be present or listen to the discussion, and records from the discussion are not always available to the public. The closed session followed the board’s normal monthly public meeting.

Poore, who works as a paralegal, alleges in his complaint that it was not legal to shut out the public from the discussion of an alderman appointment. He wrote about the complaint in December on his “Liberty in Warren County” Facebook page.

“A board meeting can only be closed for very specific purposes ... and a vacancy on the board or consideration of a nominee to fill the position is not a reason allowed by law,” Poore said. “The people of Marthasville had every right to hear the discussion in an open meeting and for that discussion to be part of the public minutes.”

Poore also noted that comments indicating that aldermen intended to discuss the vacancy in closed session were reported in the Warren County Record, but were not noted anywhere in the city’s official minutes from that meeting.

A second portion of Poore’s complaint is over an apparent failure to properly record aldermen’s votes to go into closed session on several occasions. Anytime a government board enters closed session, a roll call vote from the board needs to be taken and put on record to approve closing the meeting to the public. However, the city’s meeting minutes don’t show how aldermen voted before six closed sessions in 2021.

Poore has provided The Record with copies of correspondence from the attorney general’s office, indicating that a Sunshine Law compliance officer is seeking Marthasville city records spanning eight months in 2021. The attorney general’s office has set a deadline of Feb. 23 for documents to be provided, and for the city to send a written response to the complaint.

The attorney general’s office wrote that it could take several months to complete its review. If the compliance officer determines Marthasville did not correctly follow the Sunshine Law, the state office could respond in several ways, ranging from informal guidance to more stern compliance actions.

On the other hand, depending on their findings, state officials could decide that no enforcement action is necessary at all, according to the correspondence.

The Record reached out to Mayor David Lange to request additional information or comment about the complaint. A comment had not been provided as of press time.