The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office was correct in finding that the Portsmouth Parks and Recreation Committee violated the Open Meetings Law by failing to post meeting minutes on time. Transparency is not optional, even for volunteer boards, and public trust depends on consistent compliance with state law. 

But while the violation itself is clear, the way this committee became a focal point of criticism — particularly amid the contentious disc golf debate — raises serious questions about fairness and selective outrage.

Anyone who takes a few minutes to browse the Secretary of State’s Open Meetings website will quickly see that Portsmouth Parks and Recreation is hardly alone. Enter the names of several local boards and committees, and a pattern emerges: late minutes, missing postings, and deadlines routinely missed. In some cases, these lapses happen repeatedly and over long stretches of time. Yet few of those boards find themselves singled out in public meetings or portrayed as operating in bad faith.

That context matters. The parks and recreation committee did not ignore the law out of indifference or malice. The attorney general’s own investigation found no willful intent to hide information, no effort to keep the public in the dark. Instead, the violations stemmed from understaffing, vacant officer positions, and a group of residents volunteering their time while juggling other responsibilities. Once the problem was identified, the committee corrected it — promptly and fully.

That should count for something.

The disc golf proposal, controversial as it was, seems to have amplified scrutiny on this particular board in a way that bordered on punitive. Holding one committee up as an example while overlooking similar or worse behavior elsewhere creates the impression that enforcement depends more on politics than principle. Open government laws work best when they are applied evenly, not selectively.

None of this is an argument for leniency or lowered standards. If anything, the situation points to a broader need for education and support. Volunteer boards across Portsmouth — and Rhode Island — would benefit from refresher courses on open meetings requirements or participation in the attorney general’s annual Open Government Summit. Town leadership should also recognize that transparency obligations require resources, guidance, and realistic expectations, not just compliance mandates.

The parks and recreation committee made a mistake. It owned it, fixed it, and was cleared of intentional wrongdoing. That should have been the end of the matter. Accountability is essential, but so is perspective. When nearly everyone is struggling with the same issue, singling out one group doesn’t strengthen transparency — it undermines it.