Bauskas Municipality Council's "Informal Meetings" Must Not Replace Open Decision-Making, Experts Say

Councillors in the Bauska municipality council in Latvia hold monthly so-called informal meetings, where important issues are discussed in a small circle without informing the public. Such meetings are neither illegal nor condemnable, but they cannot substitute for open discussion and decisions in council committees and sessions. This was stated to the local newspaper Bauskas Dzīve by experts from the Latvian Association of Local Governments (LPS), which represents municipal interests, and from Transparency International's Latvian-based partner organisation Delna, a civic group focused on openness and good governance.

Councillors have recently often referred to what was discussed at these meetings during council sessions, when the final vote on an issue takes place. Because regulations do not provide for municipal decisions to be made at informal meetings, the newspaper sought to find out on what basis they are convened.

Council leadership's explanation

Deputy council chair Linda Abu Meri said the word "informal" is unfortunate and that the meetings are consultative. According to her, they take place once a month, both in the current council term and in the previous one. The council chair convenes them, councillors attend, and municipal specialists join when explanations are needed. The aim, she said, is to understand the direction in advance and avoid wasting specialists' time drafting decisions on matters that are agreed not to be advanced. She stressed that conclusions reached at such meetings have no legal force and that the issues are afterwards examined in committees and council sessions.

Asked why the media are not informed, she said such a practice was not inherited and promised to suggest that colleagues discuss it. Municipal executive director Ivars Romānovs said the meetings are not public because the issues are not yet prepared as draft decisions and can still be edited.

Experts' assessment

Agnija Birule, an expert at Delna, said consultations among councillors before decisions are nothing unusual. In her view, openness is endangered when choices important to society are made behind closed doors and the session only holds a vote, leaving no room for differing views. She said the municipality should clearly define the purpose of such meetings and inform the public.

Dāvids Valters, legal adviser at LPS, said the law does not prohibit councillors from discussing development issues among themselves, but the line between preparing and making decisions must be observed. LPS has no data on how many municipalities hold similar meetings, but working discussions are a common practice.