AG: Officials followed open-meeting law

Mathis Winkler

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

North Las Vegas officials followed the state's open meeting law when they recently changed the wording of agenda instructions for public comment, the state attorney general's office found.

Mayor Michael Montandon had recently come under criticism from council critics and free speech advocates for limiting public comment at council meetings.

Montandon based his actions on Nevada's open meeting law, which requires elected bodies to hold all meetings in public and set aside a period of time for public comment. It does not, however, oblige elected officials to hear testimony on every item they discuss.

When city officials altered the notice on meeting agendas to reflect that position, one resident filed a complaint with the attorney general's office in early January.

In her written opinion on the situation, Senior Deputy Attorney General Marta Adams said city officials didn't violate the law by changing the agenda instructions, since they are entitled to adopt reasonable rules and regulations to govern meetings.

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