After months of deliberation, the West Windsor Township Council appears closer to a resolution on the issue of e-mail use between council members. ##M:[more]##The question of whether council members’ electronic communication could constitute a prohibited private meeting had council members talking in circles at multiple meetings over the past year. The matter seems to have become a political football in the ongoing feud between West Windsor politicos.
Joseph L. Bocchini, the Mercer County Prosecutor, and Skylar Weissman, the assistant prosecutor, were called in to officiate this battle when Councilman Charles Morgan sent a draft resolution to council, Township Attorney Michael J. Herbert, and Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh that would allow council members to communicate via e-mail. “If we’re going to deny ourselves use of this tool,” said Morgan, “we’re going to hobble our ability to move forward.”
Herbert drafted another resolution supporting the other side of the argument.
At some point Morgan discussed the matter with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, which in turn consulted Herbert.
Herbert then sent his proposed ordinance to the prosecutors as well. Hsueh then sent The News a copy of the memorandum from the prosecutor that favors Herbert’s draft.
“It is our position that if business is discussed between Council members through the use of e-mails it would constitute a violation of the Open Public Meeting Act,” wrote Weissman. “Council members should not use e-mail or any other electronic messaging service as a substitute for deliberations at council meetings. The public has a right to the free flow of information conducted by their elected officials at a public forum.”
Council will vote on the resolution at a future date. The issue has not been included in the agenda for the Monday, April 16, council meeting.
