Closed CMHSAS session excludes members not present

Two members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Board of St. Joseph County were excluded from Tuesday’s executive session because they were not attending in person.
Rebecca Black and Janelle Hart joined the meeting at its onset via speaker phone. When it came time to discuss an attorney-client matter subject to closed session, board member John Dobberteen included in his motion “to disconnect those not in attendance from the phone.”
The executive-session matter centered on an update regarding a performance audit currently being conducted on CMHSAS executive director Liz O’Dell. She is on paid-administrative leave through the duration of the audit.
Dobberteen said excluding Black and Hart was necessary “for the integrity of the audit.”
Both Black and Hart initially laughed in disbelief at Dobberteen’s condition.