Will Your “Return to Normal” Include a First Amendment Audit? Be Prepared!

With City and Town offices reopening, many of our members are now “back to normal” in terms of interacting in-person with citizens, constituents and other visitors to their public buildings. And we’re hearing stories of the return of another perennial visitor—the First Amendment auditor! As you’ve likely heard, a First Amendment audit typically involves a citizen visiting City or Town offices while on a video livestream. The auditor might be there to make a perfectly legitimate request for a service…or the auditor may be visiting solely for the also-legitimate purpose of simply exercising one’s First Amendment rights and “testing” municipal personnel.

Check out General Counsel Sam Light’s Liability Alert which includes tips to consider should your entity receive a visit from a First Amendment auditor along with some resources to assist you with this issue.

Managing Transparency Related Risks Webinar

As we know, transparency is a basic expectation for municipalities. Whether or not your entity has current challenges in this area, you’ll want to check out this recent presentation from CIRSA General Counsel Sam Light. In this video, first aired at CML’s August 2020 Virtual Annual Conference, Sam discusses some trending topics related to transparency, including cyber-attack risks, liability issues surrounding First Amendment audits, and balancing transparency and confidentiality in executive sessions. Steps your organization can take to reduce potential claims, disputes, and losses in these areas are also suggested. Click here to watch the video presentation and here for a copy of the presentation handouts. CIRSA Members can always contact Sam at saml@cirsa.org or 720-605-8002 with questions about the presentation or for assistance through CIRSA’s Liability Hotline.