Are Dispensary Board Meetings Public?
They should be. I thought the WCLCB was subject to the Maryland Open Meetings law. Maybe I’m wrong….
I received a call this weekend from someone telling me that there was supposed to be a meeting of the Wicomico County Liquor Control Board on Tuesday and that I might want to attend. Today I called the main dispensary office and asked.
Their first response was, “Let me check.” Their second response was, “I don’t know.”
I asked who would know. The nice lady on the phone said that I would have to either call Stewart Haemel or Justin Collis, the manager. Collis had the day off, and I haven’t reached Haemel yet. It really doesn’t matter because of the next exchange -
“I understood that they had a meeting coming up and I hadn’t seen an ad, or anything on the dispensary’s web site.”
“Well there’s no need to advertise because the meetings are for the board and the staff.”
“Aren’t the meetings open to the public?”
“I don’t think so.”
Let’s give the folks at the WCLCB the benefit of the doubt. Let’s assume that this lady just misspoke. Why don’t the dispensary folks list their meetings on their web site?
I think I can guess. First, I don’t think they really want any of the great unwashed showing up and asking questions. Second, their web sites are for propaganda, not board business or serving the public. Look around. There are menu tabs for “Specials” and “Featured Liquors“; just no info. Check the “About Us” tab. Plenty of propaganda, nothing about the board’s operation or when it meets.
There is no question that the gang has their priorities are in order …
… if your priorities are political propaganda rather than serving the public.
Sphere: Related ContentIf you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment