“While the Act does not afford the public any right to participate in the meeting, it does assure the public right to observe the deliberative process and the making of decisions by the public body at open meetings. … It is, therefore, the deliberative and decision-making process in its entirety which must be conducted in meetings open to the public since every step of the process, including the final decision itself, constitutes the consideration or transaction of public business.”

“One purpose of the government in the sunshine law was to prevent at nonpublic meetings the crystallization of secret decisions to a point just short of ceremonial acceptance. Rarely could there be any purpose to a nonpublic premeeting conference except to conduct some part of the decisional process behind closed doors. That statute should be construed so as to frustrate all evasive devices.”