Serial Meetings vs. Cereal Meetings
A “serial meeting” is the label used to describe the situation in which a government board will hold a series of meetings attended by less than a quorum of members to discuss a public issue in private.
It can be a series of in person meetings, telephone calls, emails or texts. This type of serial communication deprives the public of observing and participating in the “deliberative process.” It is not fair for public official to make decisions behind closed doors.
Here is an article from KHNS.org – the Haines, AK public radio station – from May 2017 about the issue of “Serial Meetings” and the Haines City Council:
“Cereal Meetings,” on the other hand, do not involve issues of any public importance.
The MatsuMuckraker will post interesting (flakey, intriguing, compelling, gossipy, odd, unusual) items regarding public officials and their associates in the Mat-Su Valley under “Cereal Meeting Notes.” You can read these posts while eating breakfast. And while there is usually no reason for these items to be debated in the public arena, you can discuss them privately with one or two friends in order to reach a consensus.
