Board of Equalization violated FOIA

Bd. of Equalization violated FOIA

Augusta County Circuit Judge Victor Ludwig ruled Sept. 2 that the Augusta County Board of Equalization violated FOIA when it met in a small conference room and posted a sign on the outside door directing citizens to “please wait here until your case is called.”

The judge said the room’s “location, the method of entry, and the method in which the Board conducted [its] business” were all factors in determining whether the meeting was open.

The judge ordered the county to adjust Thomas Cline’s property assessment.

Ludwig did not make a final ruling on whether the board kept proper minutes, a point he expressed skepticism over in an earlier hearing.