The term "ad hoc" means unplanned or informal. It's been used by Christiansburg Town Council for committees which don't meet on a regular basis, or for a temporary purpose. The 2008-2009 Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) states, in part:
"Meeting" means...work sessions, when sitting physically, or through telephonic or video equipment...as a body or entity, or as an informal assemblage...wherever held, with or without minutes being taken, whether or not votes are cast....
"Public body" means any legislative body, authority, board, bureau, commission...of any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, including cities, towns and counties...including any committee, subcommittee, or other entity however designated, of the public body created to perform delegated functions of the public body or to advise the public body. It shall not exclude any such committee, subcommittee or entity because it has private sector or citizen members.
At council's July 15th meeting, Mayor Ballengee appointed an ad hoc committee to research allowing low-speed vehicles on public roadways in an immediate response to comments received that night. Per FOIA, is this then to be an open meeting, defined as a public meeting, at which citizens may be present?
If so, how will the public know when such meetings are being held?
Another ad hoc committee was established last year to review the town's taking over operations of Sunset Cemetery. That board had asked the town for years to do this. The town did not act upon the request until after another non-profit entity expressed limited interest, just to keep the facility viable. The cemetery board subsequently turned over all assets to the town, which immediately hired a manager with a salary of over $30,000 year.
If cemetery operations do not continue to pay for all related expenses-- as was done previously for many years by the non-profit corporation -- citizens won't know if this is due to how it's being managed or what expenses it now realizes under town management because the public wasn't made aware of these ad hoc meetings.
During council's recent FOIA training session, it was pointed out that official minutes are not required for committee meetings -- regular or ad hoc, yet public notice should be made three days beforehand. So there is no requirement for a formal record of what was discussed or actions taken by these groups unless they present information -- advise -- during regular council or commission meetings.
Another definition of "ad hoc" is: done for a particular purpose, set up solely in response to a specific situation or problem, without considering wider or longer-term issues (emphasis added).