Delta County Commission violates open meetings law, citizens’ lawsuit alleges

The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction): The Delta County Commission’s decisions ranging from adoption of its budget to supporting an oil project should be invalidated, a lawsuit says.

The commission posts its agenda behind locked doors on Friday nights, preventing access by the public, and frequently changes the agenda over the weekend, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Delta County District Court by Delta County Citizen Report.

“Significant policy making has occurred in these unnoticed or improperly noticed meetings,” the suit says.

County officials said they hadn’t seen the complaint but that the county “anticipates more of the same groundless complaints and criticisms” the organization has made previously.

The commission has entered into agreements with oil and gas companies, developed policy for agricultural development, heard outside consultation on the Rogers Mesa Highway Access Control Plan, and mandated letters supporting oil and gas development in the North Fork Valley without proper notice, the suit alleges.

Residents have been denied the opportunity to be heard, while lobbyists and other representatives of special interests have been given time to speak at commission meetings without their presence or the contents of their presentations being noticed to the public, the suit says.

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