Jones Trustees Decline to Publicly Address Open Meeting Law Violation Complaint

The Jones Library Trustees conducted a three-minute public meeting on November 4, the sole topic of which was the Open Meeting Law (OML) complaint filed against them. The trustees opened the meeting on Zoom, took attendance, offered an opportunity for public comment, and unanimously voted to enter into executive session to discuss the complaint.

On October 26, 2026, Indy contributor Jeff Lee filed an OML complaint alleging that the Jones Library Trustees were obligated to publicly identify the litigation discussed in executive sessions held on October 15 and 22, 2026. He argued that: 

“The chair did not identify the litigation to be discussed. He did not state the case name, the court, or the other party, and he did not say whether the Board is a plaintiff or defendant or whether a lawsuit has been filed or is only threatened. He gave no reason why identifying the litigation would compromise the purpose of the executive session.”

According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s (AG) Division of Open Government, the public body must, within 14 days of receipt of an OML complaint, review the complaint during a meeting and respond to the complainant in writing. The Trustees had several options about how to meet this obligation: 

• review the complaint as a group at a public meeting and authorize an individual to draft and send a response
• have an individual draft a response in advance of a public meeting for the body to approve
• refer the complaint without discussing its substance
• review and discuss the complaint in executive session (this is allowed because OML complaints are, by their nature, complaints filed against a public official)

The Jones Library Trustees opted for the latter. Chair Austin Sarat’s motion indicated that the trustees were also authorizing the Town Attorney to submit their response to the complaint. The reason for engaging the services of the town attorney for this matter was not revealed, nor was it stated whether the town attorney has also been involved in the litigation discussed in the previous executive sessions.

A copy of the Jones Trustees’ response must also be sent to the Attorney General. If the complainant is not satisfied with the trustees’ response, the complainant can file a complaint with the AG, who will investigate and determine whether a violation of OML occurred and whether the public body’s response adequately resolved the complaint. The AG can order remedial action, including compelling immediate and future compliance, requiring attendance at OML training, releasing minutes of executive sessions, and/or nullifying the public body’s actions; it can also impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000.

This video from the AG’s office reviews OML complaint processes.