The Canadian County district attorney said Wednesday the City of Norman did not intentionally violate the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and will not face charges in a lawsuit over the June 2020 vote to cut $865,000 from a proposed budget increase for the Norman Police Department.
In a statement from Canadian County District Attorney Mike Fields, he said though the wording of the agenda item which ultimately led to the budget decrease did violate the OMA, there is no evidence the city deliberately withheld information from Norman residents to prevent them from participating in the meeting.
On June 16, 2020, the Norman City Council voted to cut $865,000 from a proposed increase to the city’s police department budget and reallocate it to community outreach. While the department still saw a $104,000 increase from the previous year’s budget, the vote symbolized, to some, a signal of the devaluation of police officers.
Fields said multiple “experienced professionals,” along with former Mayor Breea Clark and then-members of Norman City Council, believed voting on the agenda item was authorized by the language written on the agenda. The city postponed the vote to provide more notification to residents.
“In fact, the wording along with the attachment proposing amendments to the budget as well as the decision to postpone the meeting all worked together to ensure the goals and aspirations of the OMA were not thwarted in any substantive way,” Fields wrote in the statement. “It allowed for more public participation and more public scrutiny.”
In July 2020, the Norman chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit alleging the city violated the OMA since it did not directly refer to a reallocation of police funds in its agenda.
A judge ruled in December 2020 the city “willfully violated” the OMA, invalidating the council’s June vote. The city appealed this ruling and in January 2021, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation took over the case at the county sheriff’s request.
Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn recused his office from reviewing OSBI’s investigation, leading the state attorney general to appoint Fields’ office to take over.
The city’s appeal went to the Oklahoma state Supreme Court, where the court sided with the FOP in its decision released in August 2021.
Tiffany Vrska, Norman's chief communications officer, said the city values transparency and the lawsuit changed how actions on agenda items are listed in cities across the state. Vrska also said the city appreciates Wednesday’s decision.
“We are grateful the District Attorney understood the Council’s desire to allow for more public participation and more public scrutiny during its budget adoption process in June 2020, and in no way intentionally violated the Act or attempted to stifle public participation,” Vrska said.
Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Holman is the only remaining member on city council who participated in the June 2020 vote. Holman agreed with the Wednesday decision in a statement to OU Daily, specifically about how the city aimed to promote resident input in that decision.
Holman noted the impact the original decision had in the way municipalities right their meeting agendas.
“This case has served to increase transparency across the State of Oklahoma and that is a good thing in my opinion,” Holman said. “In the end, I am glad to see this matter finally settled and hopeful that our City can continue to move forward together.”
Editor's note: OU Daily contacted the Norman chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police and its attorney for a statement. This article will be updated when more information is available.
This article was edited on Feb. 17 at 8:42 p.m. to reflect that in June 2020, the Norman City Council voted to cut $865,000 from a proposed budget increase for the Norman Police Department, not the department's budget.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston and Karoline Leonard.
