That's not just a headline at the top of this column, it is advice that every elected official should take to heart when pondering whether a meeting should be closed to the public.

That's not just a headline at the top of this column, it is advice that every elected official should take to heart when pondering whether a meeting should be closed to the public.
We'd suggest that the Boardman Township trustees clip it and paste it to the back of their nameplates -- or tape it to their foreheads, whatever it takes -- to provide a constant reminder that it is not difficult to abide by Ohio's public meetings law.
The very first words of Ohio's Open Meetings Act read: "This section shall be liberally construed to require public officials to take official action and to conduct all deliberations upon official business only in open meetings unless the subject matter is specifically excepted by law."
Liberally construed ... all deliberations ... only in open meetings ... specifically excepted -- how many warning flags does a law have to wave before elected officials understand that they are not supposed to search for tortured interpretations of the law as an excuse to go behind closed doors?
Pattern of defiance
And yet, they do. It doesn't seem to matter whether it is a trustee with two decades as an elected official, a trustee with a law degree or an inexperienced township administrator (who you would think would recognize his own shortcomings and therefore play it safe by sticking to the clear wording of the law).
We have railed on this subject before, and no doubt will again, because too many government officials seem to be incapable of grasping Ohio law on open meetings (and on public records, as well).
The most recent transgression comes to us courtesy of two Boardman trustees, Elaine Mancini and Robyn Gallitto , and the administrator, Jason Loree.
Mancini, Gallitto and Loree went behind closed doors for an hour last week to discuss "personnel," then emerged to pass two motions that would fall under the state's personnel exception only by stretching the law beyond its limits.
Trustee Kathy Miller was out of town and didn't attend Thursday's meeting.
One motion rescinded and canceled the request for qualifications regarding architectural proposals for a new fire station/urban design center. The other made Loree the spokesperson on behalf of the majority of the board "when discussing and conveying, and generally representing the township's and the board's positions, policies and other general information."
Perhaps it isn't surprising that Mancini, Gallitto and Loree can't grasp the state's sunshine law. They don't seem to have much of a grasp of the First Amendment, either.
The spokesman issue was apparently sparked by Miller's recent letter to the editor, which she signed as a Boardman trustee, not as chairman of the board. Nowhere did she imply that she was speaking for anyone other than herself.
So what was the point of the motion making Loree their spokesman? Do they really think that two members of the board can gag a third? We don't know their positions because they didn't have the integrity to follow state law in conducting their discussions or the guts to say what they were thinking in an open forum.
Irony abounds
Apparently without realizing the irony, Mancini said a spokesman was needed because, "There's so many things going on in the township, and we don't want to have rumor and innuendo." Rumor and innuendo thrive behind closed doors. If the board conducts itself according to state law, the township won't need a talking head to dispel rumors.
In another irony, when Loree was questioned about his contention that the closed session was necessary to discuss discipline of a public official --who's the official? -- he said he'd need to consult the board to determine how it wanted the questioned answered. What good is a spokesman if he can't talk about a meeting he sat through?
It would all be almost humorous if it weren't a violation of state law -- and if it weren't an unsettling indication of how a majority of the board apparently is inclined to operate at a time when the trustees are spending down Boardman's financial reserves. There are hard times ahead, and they won't get any easier if trustees choose to lock the public out.