The Indiana Public Access Counselor has responded to a complaint filed by the Evansville Courier & Press about a recent closed-door caucus involving Democrats on the Evansville City Council.
Public Access Counselor Luke Britt is calling on the City Council to be more judicious when calling caucuses in the future.
Five members of the nine-member City Council met in a Democratic Party caucus Oct. 1 at the office of City Council Attorney Scott Danks.
Danks and the present council members said the caucus was to discuss “political strategy” stemming from a debate over Evansville’s 2015 budget. They said they made no decision about the budget.
Britt says Danks was there to moderate and ensure compliance with the Open Door Law, there was no independent party – such as the newspaper -- to observe the proceeding.
Britt says such caucuses are “a slippery slope.”