Trustee files petition against Perry County Hospital System over Sunshine Law

A Perry County Hospital board of trustees member has filed a petition with the court to require the hospital system to release documents as required by Missouri's open records act.

Joe Hutchison, an outspoken dissenter on the board of trustees, asked for documents through his official capacity, but those requests have been denied, he said. He then asked for the documents through Missouri's open meetings and records law, commonly known as the "Sunshine Law". According to the petition, the hospital refused to release the documents, so Hutchison has filed a petition with the court hoping a judge will force the system to release the documents.

Two-board system

Two boards are involved in running the hospital. The executive board is known colloquially as the "private board" that oversees operations of the system. The board has a set of bylaws that establish that it controls operations of the hospital. The board of trustees is an elected board expected to oversee the allocation of Perry County's hospital property tax, which goes to pay for capital projects and maintenance. The property taxes contribute a small percentage of the hospital's overall budget, but taxpayers have been paying into the hospital for many decades, contributing millions of dollars.

In the 1990s, the trustees and the Perry County Commission created a not-for-profit system that established the executive board. The move was intended to make documents and materials "private", according to newspaper coverage at the time. But subsequent court decisions in Missouri call into question whether the executive board, created by a public board, is considered a quasi-governmental body and subject to the laws requiring transparency of meetings and documents. Most not-for-profit hospitals operate privately, with the exception of some financial information they must share publicly in their annual 990 forms, which are required to sustain their not-for-profit status.

Two members of the elected board are also members of the executive board.

Documents requested

The documents Hutchison requested from the executive board through the Sunshine Law are:

• copies of meeting minutes detailing the people who voted, abstained/recused to place the system's chief financial officer Patrick Carron on leave in October 2020;
• copies of all meeting minutes detailing the people who voted, abstained/recused to hire or otherwise offer or extend a contract/job offer to Patrick Carron from Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2018;
• copies of meeting minutes where Tim Brewer's removal from the board was discussed and/or voted upon;
• copies of meeting minutes that authorized Tim Brewer to sign and/or extend a contract to Patrick Carron;
• copies of all meeting minutes where conflicts of interest were discussed and/or voted upon from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2019.

Hutchison claims in his petition that he delivered the records request Aug. 18. The hospital system responded by saying it is not subject to the Sunshine Law, according to the petition.

The judge's ruling could have a profound effect on how the hospital system conducts its meetings.

The petition is asking for a ruling whether the system is subject to Chapter 610 of Missouri's statutes, affirming that the system is a quasi-public governmental body. It is also asking the court to rule that the system has knowingly and purposely violated the Sunshine Law and to pay civil penalties for each violation. The petition also asks the judge to force the system to pay for attorney fees and costs.

"The citizens and taxpayers of Perry County deserve to know what's going on in their county, especially when we are talking about healthcare of our county," Hutchison said in a statement to the Southeast Missourian. "The Health System should follow the law and be as open and transparent as possible so that the people of Perry County know how and why their tax dollars are being spent."

The petition was filed in the Circuit Court of Perry County, Missouri.

A hospital spokesperson did not immediately return a message seeking a comment from the hospital system.

Hospital system CEO Chris Wibbenmeyer previously told the Southeast Missourian that the hospital operates "privately" as almost all hospitals do, adding that the boards' bylaws spell out the responsibilities of both boards. He said the issues of public records have never been raised since the executive board was established in the 1990s.