Do Open Meeting Laws Prevent Sensitivity Training Of Fellow Public Official?

Yesterday's Toledo Blade reports that in suburban Perrysburg Township, Gary Britten, one of the three Township Trustees, used an offensive phrase that he apparently thought was just a "figure of speech" at the Township Trustees' meeting on Monday. After voting with fellow commissioners to give the township's deputy fire chief an extra week to negotiate a better price for two pieces of emergency medical equipment, Britten apparently urged the fire chief to "Jew him down". The remarkable legal twist to this incident is the reaction of a fellow Township trustee, Craig LaHote, after local rabbis were quoted in the press as urging someone to explain to Britten the offensiveness of his remark. LaHote said that Ohio's open meeting law (ORC Sec. 121.22) prevents a quorum of elected leaders from discussing township business outside of an official meeting. Since there are only three trustees, he said it would be illegal for him or board Chairman Bob Mack to discuss the matter with Britten privately.