On at least three occasions so far this year, Leelanau County District 7 Commissioner Melinda Lautner has been seen passing notes to Clerk Michelle Crocker or Chief Deputy Clerk Jennifer Zywicki during public meetings. According to the Michigan Press Association (MPA), this violates the spirit of the Michigan Open Meetings Act (OMA) and may have broken the law.
Lautner always sits next to whoever is preparing meeting minutes in the board of commissioners meeting room at the far-left end of the table, closest to the side of the building facing northeast.
Lautner has been seen passing notes several times, including to Crocker during interviews with candidates for the interim administrator position at a March 19 board of commissioners special session; to Crocker during interviews for the county administrator/ chief financial officer (CFO) position at a May 30 special session; and, most recently, to Zywicki during the July 9 executive session.
