When is a meeting not a meeting?

Ok, that's kind of a riddle. A meeting of a governing body, in New Jersey and most other states, must be advertised so the public knows and can attend if they chose. The trouble is, in small towns, there may be only three members on a governing body. Which means, when two of them meet by chance at the Post Office, it can be an illegal town meeting. Some officials are happy about this. They use any opportunity they can to discuss municipal business illegally. Others try their best to avoid illegal meetings. Unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. The public needs to be informed about the rules and also savvy enough to cut officials some slack. It pays to assume they are acting in your best interest until proven otherwise. And when proven otherwise, yell like crazy.