Mr. F. Cody Pancake, III
AGO 042717
No. 042717
West Virginia Attorney General Opinions
State of West Virginia Office of the Attorney General
April 27, 2017
Mr. F.
Cody Pancake, III
Prosecuting
Attorney
Office
of the Prosecuting Attorney of Mineral County
P.O.
Drawer 458
Keyser,
WV 26726
Patrick
Morrisey, Attorney General
Dear
Prosecutor Pancake:
You
have asked for an Opinion of the Attorney General regarding
whether volunteer fire departments are required to conduct
meetings under the Open Meetings Act (the "Act").
This Opinion is being issued pursuant to West Virginia Code
§ 5-3-2, which provides that the Attorney General
"may consult with and advise the several prosecuting
attorneys in matters relating to the official duties of their
office." To the extent this Opinion relies on facts, it
is based solely upon the factual assertions set forth in your
correspondence with the Attorney General's Office.
In your
letter, you explain that Jason R. Sites, Esquire wrote you to
request an opinion from this Office as to whether local
volunteer fire departments are required to conduct meetings
under the Open Meetings Act. You note that the volunteer fire
departments receive public funds, and explain that you think
that the departments are subject to the Act. In his letter to
you, Mr. Sites explains that many of the local volunteer fire
departments want their meetings to be open to members only
except for a period of public comment designated on the
agenda. He explains that he has reviewed the West Virginia
Open Meetings Act and is of the opinion that the fire
departments are not required to conduct open meetings because
they are not public agencies or governing bodies under West
Virginia Code § 6-9A-2. Mr. Sites explains that he also
reviewed Chapter 29 of the Code relating to fire departments
and could not find any guidance on fire department meetings.
Your
letter raises the following specific legal question:
Does
the West Virginia Open Meetings Act require local volunteer...