As MoreThanTheCurve.com reported this morning, a Borough Council meeting in Conshohocken scheduled for tonight (December 15) had not had its agenda published. MoreThanTheCurve.com’s article was published within 12 hours of the meeting being held.

The borough eventually published the agenda on its website at approximately 9:30 a.m. After our article, a reader sent us a message that the borough was in fact in violation of the Sunshine Act that had been updated by the state in the late summer of 2021. The updated law requires government agencies with websites to publish agendas 24 hours prior to the start of a meeting.

From the “Legal Hotline” section of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s website:

Senate Bill 554, Act 65 of 2021, was signed into law on June 30, 2021 and takes effect in 60 days on August 29. No later than the effective date, agencies covered by the Sunshine Act are required to provide at least 24 hours advance notice of the meeting agenda, including, at a minimum, a listing of each matter of agency business that will be or may be the subject of deliberation or official action at the upcoming meeting.

If the agency maintains a website, this agenda information must be posted on the website no later than 24 hours before the meeting is scheduled to take place. The agenda must also be posted at the meeting location and must be made available to individuals attending the meeting.

If an agency plans to talk about or take official action on a matter of agency business, it must note it on the agenda so that the public is informed and can attend the meeting, if they are so inclined.

MoreThanTheCurve.com inquired with members of the borough council and Borough Manager Stephanie Cecco as to whether they would still move forward with the meeting due to the violation.

The borough then sent out a notice that the meeting had been canceled and MoreThanTheCurve.com received the following response from Borough Manager Stephanie Cecco:

Unfortunately, there was an oversight made regarding the timely posting of the agenda for the scheduled December 15, 2021 Borough Council Public Meeting. The meeting scheduled for this evening will be canceled. An alternate date and time for the Public Voting Meeting will be advertised shortly. Unless otherwise advertised, all business items currently on the agenda will be considered at that time. Once a date and time is confirmed, I will forward to your attention. I personally apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this might have caused our Borough community.

We will provide an update when a new meeting date is announced.