Officials in Merriam Woods have acknowledged a violation of Missouri state law and are pledging to correct the problem.

The city leaders violated the Sunshine Law on Wednesday, April 5, when they had a meeting with the mayor and four members of the board of aldermen. The number of aldermen resulted in a quorum, which under Missouri’s Sunshine Law must be a publicly announced meeting at least 24 hours in advance.

“We met for an informative discussion and ended up being a quorum of four,” Merriam Woods Mayor Rusty Ault told Branson Tri-Lakes News.

The discussion revolved around the possible impeachment of an alderman related to the hiring process for a new city police chief. Ault said no motion for the actual impeachment took place as he is the only elected official in the city who can move for an alderman’s impeachment.

“Nothing was voted on,” Ault said. “We were going to seek guidance from the city attorney first.”

Ault said the city leaders immediately owned their mistake regarding the Sunshine Law violation and took steps to help make sure they don’t violate the Sunshine Law in the future.

“Since it was a violation, someone from the Attorney General’s office is coming and will give the alderman and mayor a Sunshine class,” Ault said. “There was no intent to violate the Sunshine Law. This class and new board will save any future problems.”

The city is examining reopening the hiring process for a new police chief and will release more details on the process in the near future.