(Shoshoni, WY) – A citizen’s allegations of potential open meeting law violations during executive sessions ignited a heated exchange at Tuesday’s Shoshoni City Council meeting.
Ron Ankeny, representing an unnamed organization, called for a third-party investigation into the council’s executive session practices dating back to January 2019. Ankeny cited concerns about discussions that may have exceeded the narrow scope allowed for real estate matters under Wyoming’s Open Meetings Act.
“There are some suspected potential violations of the Open Meetings Act,” Ankeny told the council. “It very well could be that some of you or all of you have no idea whatsoever whether or not what you were doing was permissible or not.”
Mayor Joel Highsmith defended the council’s practices, stating, “We are following the rules. I believe everybody here understands the executive session and how we’re supposed to handle that.”
Highsmith emphasized that all decisions stemming from executive sessions are made publicly as required by law. He challenged Ankeny’s assertions, saying, “Simply saying that something is illegal don’t make it illegal.”
The mayor invited Ankeny to provide concrete evidence of wrongdoing.
Ankeny said he consulted with Chris Wages, an attorney representing the Wyoming Press Association, who advised that civil action could result in fines and significant legal costs. However, Ankeny stressed his organization’s desire to resolve the matter “at the lowest possible level” without litigation.
The citizen requested the council “conduct a credible third-party investigation of any violations of the Public Meetings Act,” identify any issues, develop a plan to prevent future violations, and make all information public.
Councilman Jake Stetler pushed back against Ankeny’s insinuations, particularly regarding his own appointment to the council. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to infer, but I didn’t do anything wrong,” Stetler said.
Ankeny claimed to have attended an executive session where the sale of property was discussed, potentially violating the act’s narrow allowances for real estate matters. He disclosed some of what was discussed in the executive session. The town’s attorney, Marshall Keller, called him out for violating the law in discussing the contents of the executive session.
Ron said he isn’t on the board anymore and can discuss it. However, he was informed that regardless of being on the board or not, executive session disclosure is not permitted. Ron then admitted to potentially breaking the law by not objecting or leaving the meeting.
“I have visited with the sheriff about this. I have a detective assigned this to our organization looking into ethics violations,” Ankeny said.
Wyoming’s Open Meetings Act allows executive sessions for specific purposes, including real estate discussions when public knowledge could increase prices. However, the law requires all final actions and decisions to be made in open sessions.
The council took no immediate action on Ankeny’s request for an investigation. The mayor maintained they follow proper procedures and police themselves during executive sessions.
“We are conscious of the rules, the laws, and the rights for the public to know what we’re supposed to do,” Highsmith said. “But there are certain items that were allowable reasons for us to withhold that information.”
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