Office of Information Practices

S Memo 20-2
January 22, 2020
Sufficiency of Agenda

At its meeting on February 22, 2017, the Kauai County Council (Council) voted to approve the Kauai Salary Commission’s (Commission) Resolution setting forth the maximum annual salaries that the Commission established for nine County executive positions and for the Council Chair and Councilmembers (Salary Resolution).  Requesters represented then Councilmember JoAnn Yukimura and, on her behalf, asked for an investigation into whether the Council violated the Sunshine Law by considering and voting on the Salary Resolution when the Council’s agenda for this Meeting (Agenda) had not indicated that the Council would act on the Salary Resolution listed on the Agenda.

OIP found that the Agenda did provide notice of the Council’s consideration of the Resolution because attached to the Agenda were copies of the Resolution and the Commission’s Cover Letter stating that the Resolution was being “[t]ransmitted herewith for consideration by the County Council.”  (Emphasis added).  Furthermore, even if the Commission’s Cover Letter had not been attached, OIP had previously opined in OIP Opinion Letter No. 07-06 that the Sunshine Law does not require an agenda to state what action, if any, a board may take on an item.  Therefore, OIP concluded that the Agenda provided sufficient public notice as required by the Sunshine Law and allowed the Council to consider and vote on the Salary Resolution.