The Martin Chronicles continues to investigate Villa Hills Mayor Mike Martin’s latest turmoil. As we first reported yesterday, it appears Martin may have been conspiring with Councilman Mike Pope to hold at least one secret meeting of the City’s finance committee in part to discuss continued retaliation against a City employee who is suing the mayor for among other things, retaliation.
As promised, we had a lengthy chat with our Open Meetings authority. According to our expert, if at their last controversial meeting Martin, Pope and any other members of the finance committee discussed absolutely anything related to the business of their committee, they committed a violation of the Kentucky Open Meeting statutes. Their actions constitute a violation whether or not they had a quorum. In point of fact, conducting committee business without a quorum would be the exact cause of the violation.
The strangest part of this story? That would be Martin telling one of the committee members not to attend the finance meeting because he didn’t want the committee to have a quorum. The committee member who asserts he was asked not to attend has told several sources that Martin and Pope moved the meeting date and time to ensure that he would have a schedule conflict. That puzzling piece of this unfolding story will be the focus of continued investigation.
Our Open Meetings statute specialist made a prediction for Martin and Pope’s possible defense. Remember the question Pope asked the City Attorney about minutes and quorums at the February council meeting? Why did Pope pose that question? Perhaps here is why. So that the City Attorney could be used as a human shield for giving incomplete or unclear advice in the event that Martin and Pope’s misdeed was discovered.
The attorney said minutes weren’t necessary because without a quorum there would be no meeting. The attorney also advised them that while the committee members may talk, they should not conduct business. Martin and Pope may claim that the City Attorney’s answer wasn’t clear enough. They may say they misunderstood. In short, they may break out their patented double-talk.
Martin and Pope will run into deep trouble employing that defense. While both have developed quite a reputation for double-talking, it’s unlikely to prove a successful tactic in this case. You see, the mayor and all of the council members recently received a detailed "Dos and Don’ts” guide explaining the Open Meetings statutes. The Attorney General’s office prepared this information specifically to assist elected officials. Elected officials are expected to go to great lengths to make all meetings open and welcoming for the public. Didn’t they study that guide?
Additionally, Martin, Pope and the rest of council recently witnessed the Ethics Board’s laudable public mea culpa about that board’s own Open Meetings statute transgressions. The Ethics Board was sanctioned for doing much the same thing we have just learned the finance committee is doing.
The difference? The Ethics Board committed their violations mostly as a result of the wrong-headed hubris of its’ former chairman. Their violations were more a result of ignorance rather than ill intent. Still, they were sanctioned. Martin and Pope may have intentionally and improperly attempted to do a conscious end-run around the statute. A sanction for such an intentional act should be far more severe.
The “Hey, I’m just stupid” excuse simply won’t cut it any longer. While Martin is most assuredly one of the faintest lights in the night sky, his low IQ is not a reasonable defense. He is the “CEO” after all. It is his job to know. At least for the moment.
And we shouldn’t pay too much attention to anything Pope says regarding this possible abuse of power. The Martin Chronicles has already reprinted an email from Mr. Pope where he plainly states that he has “no problem” with clear violations of the Open Records statutes. Why would he be any more concerned about the Open Meeting statute?
As we predicted, the mayor’s perpetual chest-beating about his “broad powers” is coming back to haunt in a significant way.
Villa Hills’ residents should be very troubled by this turn of events. Why? Because this move, combined with Martin’s January 5, 2012 wanton destruction of City records, greatly assists the City employee/plaintiff’s case. These continued dumbfounding moves by the mayor greatly weaken the City’s position in what is already a very serious lawsuit. Hey, it’s your wallet that Martin is placing in greater jeopardy.
