How Open Is Fairfield's Government?

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The recent controversy surrounding the Fairfield Metro train station construction project caught many in town by surprise. Few knew that the site contained contaminated soil, which could cost millions to remove. Even fewer realized that the new deal voted on by the Board of Selectmen in April 2010 made Fairfield responsible for that costs.

The lack of information on such an important issue drove at least one Fairfield resident to make a demand at last week’s Republican first selectman candidate’s debate. She wanted to make information flow more freely from Fairfield’s government. “There’s an obvious need, I think, in this town for a more open and accountable government,” the woman, who did not wish to give her name, said last Monday night.

But how “open” does Fairfield need to be, at least from a legal standpoint? Connecticut state law says that every major decision must be made so that each resident can find out about it. Town governing bodies must open their meetings to the public whenever they have a quorum, or enough members to place a vote — usually more than half of the total.

Boards and commissions don’t need to follow this law in a few instances. The law allows for private executive sessions, or closed-door meetings, when discussing pending litigation or employee performance. But elected bodies must come back into public session and allow for open comments before taking any actions.

So how do you know when and where to go for these open meetings? The town is required to make it easy to find out. State law requires meeting agendas — with times, locations and topics for discussion — to be posted at least 24 hours before any session. Fairfield meets this mark with postings in the Old Town Hall and Sullivan Independence Hall lobbies. All agendas are also downloadable through Fairfield’s website.

Once a meeting closes, the town must also make it easy for its resident to find out what happened. Any votes must be posted within 48 hours, and full minutes with details about each discussion and action must be ready within a week. Again, Fairfield puts its information out through the town clerk’s office for anyone who requests it, and it is also available through the town website.

But Fairfield, like more and more towns in the area, takes spreading public meeting activity a step further. Local resident Gerard Speno diligently sits through meetings week after week, manning cameras for FairTV. Speno’s service maintains a streaming video archive of all the meetings Speno attends.

Speno covers each session of the town’s major decision-making bodies: The Board of Selectmen, the town’s executive branch; the Representative Town Meeting, Fairfield’s legislature; and the Board of Education. But Speno says he would be willing to expand his coverage to any board in demand. “Just tell me where and when, and I can cover it,” Speno said before a meeting last month.  

Do you think Fairfield’s government could stand to be more open? In what ways do you think it can improve?

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