One can only wonder whether the residents of the four cities actually supported the opposition of their city councils to the Open Meetings Act.

Both the plaintiffs and the defendants  have filed for summary judgment.

Later, a federal judge dismissed cities from the lawsuit.

See “Judge tosses Texas Cities from open meetings suit” Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2010.

Yet, a new summary of the purposes and provisions of the TOMA and the circumstances under which closed meetings can be held by governing bodies and administrative bodies subject to the law has just appeared with a discussion appropriate for its inclusion in the Texas Professional License Defense Lawyer Blog. The blog entry dated April 20, 2010 was “What is the Texas Open Meetings Act?” by Louis Leichter.

This might be just the right time to write to the Pflugerville City Council and ask that Pflugerville be withdrawn from the TOMA (Texas Open Meeting Act) lawsuit.

Should Pflugerville begin to follow the kind of advice offered to cities and towns in Galveston County in The Daily News (a newspaper published in Galveston County)? In an article entitled “League isn’t worth the price,” it is advocated that cities and towns in Galveston County quit the Texas Municipal League on the basis of positions taken by this organization toward open government. It is further advocated that petitions be started if city governments do not act.

This is what the Pflugerville City Council should also be doing.

See 

“Texas town backs out of open meetings suit” (AP article) The Houston Chronicle, January 21, 2010.

Perhaps it is about time for the Pflugerville City Council to withdraw Pflugerville from the TOMA lawsuit, also.

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In the video, much of what was presented in defense of the participation of Pflugerville in the TOMA lawsuit seemed to be an elaboration upon arguments given in this lawsuit that were offered in opposition to preserving TOMA in its present form. It may be noted that the complaint in the current lawsuit is the same (according to page 16) as that in an earlier lawsuit. It is not surprising then that a brief, dated August 28 and prepared by the State of Texas for the earlier lawsuit, appears to address effectively many of the concerns and arguments brought up in the current lawsuit and in the video.  

As one tries to evaluate the arguments presented in the video, one may question why such a small number of the more than 1000 Texas cities are joining in the TOMA lawsuit if pursuing this litigation is justified and very important.

Added Note: Another relevant brief, dated September 3, 2009, was submitted for the earlier TOMA lawsuit from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 23 News Media Organizations.

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“We support the fundamental proposition contained in TOMA that elected officials should not participate in closed meetings to discuss and resolve public issues. We believe that TOMA is necessary to assure the citizens of Texas that the decisions of their elected officials are made in a public meeting, properly noticed and open to the public.” 

There has been much criticism in the media directed toward the TOMA lawsuit. Very few Texas cities have joined in the lawsuit. It is possible that more city councils in Texas will follow the example set in West University Place and actually pass resolutions in support of TOMA.

“West U stands for open government.” by George Boehme, GeorgeBoehme.com, January 12, 2010. 

“Council moves to support Open Meetings Act” by Steve Mark, West University Examiner, January 12, 2010. 

“Open Meetings Act Fight May Affect You” by Greg Googan, My Fox Houston, January 11, 2010.

“We need more transparency in government, not less” by George Boehme, GeorgeBoehme.com, January 9, 2010.

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