AGO 97050.

• Court: Nebraska

Nebraska Attorney General Opinions 1997. AGO 97050. DATE: September 18, 1997SUBJECT: Application of the Nebraska Public Meetings Statutes, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-1408 Through 84-1414 (1994, Cum. Supp. 1996), to an Appointment by the County Treasurer, County Clerk and County Attorney Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-567 (Cum. Supp. 1996) to Fill a Vacancy on the County Board REQUESTED BY: James S. Jansen Douglas County AttorneyWRITTEN BY: Don Stenberg, Attorney General Dale A. Comer, Assistant Attorney General In your opinion request letter dated September 10, 1997, which we received on September 12, 1997, you requested our opinion as to certain matters involving the Nebraska Public Meetings Statutes, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-1408 through 84-1414 (1994, Cum. Supp. 1996). Specifically, you are concerned about the application of the Public Meetings Statutes to the pending process whereby a vacancy on the Douglas County Board will be filled by action of the Douglas County Clerk, the Douglas County Treasurer, and yourself, as Douglas County Attorney. In our Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88024 (March 17, 1988), we stated that we would issue formal opinions of the Attorney General to County Attorneys in Nebraska only with respect to questions involving "criminal matters" and "matters relating to the public revenue." That policy was based upon our statutory authority and the resources available to this office. We continue to adhere to that policy. In the present instance, the questions you raised regarding the Public Meetings Statutes do not appear, on their face, to involve either criminal matters or matters relating to the public revenue. However, possible sanctions for violation of the Nebraska Public Meetings Statutes include criminal prosecution along with other types of enforcement actions. Consequently, we will offer our opinion as to the two questions which you raised, since they do involve criminal matters in a sense, and since we could be called upon to enforce the public meetings laws with respect to the appointment procedures at issue. Our conclusions stated below, therefore, reflect our enforcement policy in connection with the questions which you raised. From the materials which you provided to us, we understand that a vacancy has been created on the Douglas County Board of Commissioners due to the resignation of one of its members. Neb...