Are town council workshops and contract negotiations open to the public?

Meetings: All Town Council meetings are open to the public except for executive sessions. That doesn’t mean that every meeting is a public hearing at which the public has the right to join the conversation. You may know that the Burrillville Town Council generally welcomes public comment on any agenda item.

Workshops: Workshops are a little different. The public notice is the same as for meetings and the meetings are held in public. Usually, they are conducted for studying an issue rather than final decision-making. The public does not usually participate. There are usually no votes taken.

Public Hearings: The purpose of a public hearing is specifically for the Town Council to hear input from the public. There is usually more notice given for a public hearing and there’s a part of the agenda that’s set aside specifically for public input. Often there will be a time for opponents and a time for proponents of the issue being discussed.

Executive Session: Executive (closed) session is allowed by law for limited and specific reasons. The Town Council may “hold a meeting closed to the public upon an affirmative vote of the majority of its members”. The vote to go into executive session must be made in an open meeting. The reasons and procedure for executive session are explained in the attorney general’s guide to open meetings. Here’s a link to the guide. The attorney general’s guide is a good resource for a lot of information about open meetings.

Contract negotiations are generally not handled by the Town Council. They are an administrative function handled by management at the direction of the Council.  The Town Council receives updates and status reports. At times, the process requires the Council’s guidance or direction for a matter that is at impasse or that may potentially conflict with the Council’s prior direction on a particular issue.  When the details are firm the Town Council makes the final decision about contracts and agreements. Those decisions are made in public.