Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office ruled that two Labette County Commissioners violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act. Earlier this month, a complaint was filed to the AG's office by a county citizen. The complaint stated a phone call on April 27th, between Commissioners Cole Proehl and Brian Kinzie, lead to a passing of a resolution during a commission meeting on April 30th.
According to Commissioner Kinzie, the two commissioners discussed wind energy along with some shared frustration they had during previous meetings. Commissioner Proehl said the phone call started with him apologizing for losing his temper and walking out of a meeting.
While the AG's office determined that the phone call did not lead to the passing of the resolution it was a discussion of business between a majority of the board and therefore is a KOMA violation. The two commissioners are required to take a one-hour KOMA training class. Commissioner Lonnie Addis was not a part of the phone call so the training is not required for him but it was recommended.
