FOXBORO - Town Counsel Richard Gelerman is seeking to change the state Open Meeting Law to allow municipal officials to go behind closed doors to prepare for negotiating land deals and other agreements.

"To require a municipality to negotiate its development strategy in a public forum places a municipality at a distinct disadvantage from a nonmunicipal developer," Gelerman wrote in recent letter asking the office of the attorney general to support a revision in the Open Meeting Law.

The law requires that the public's business be conducted in public, but provides for exemptions, such as for collective bargaining strategy and for imminent litigation.

Gelerman for years has represented the town in negotiations with various developers, notably the Kraft Group, developer of Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place.

In an interview, he said his proposal to loosen up part of the Open Meeting Law was not prompted by any specific past or future project. Rather, he said, it's his belief that town and city officials have for years been hampered by the requirement to conduct development negotiations in public - and in some cases have skirted the law. Gelerman asked the Attorney General's office to support an amendment to the Open Meeting Law explicitly allowing a public body to meet in closed session "to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiating with persons seeking support from said public body for a matter requiring contract negotiations, zoning or other by-law or ordinance changes."

In an interview, Gelerman said a similar bill will soon be filed in the Legislature.

Asked if the public will get better deals from developers under his proposal, Gelerman said not necessarily, but that the change would make it easier for towns and cities to conduct such business and stay within the law.

"It's a balance," Gelerman said. "We're all aware that we're doing the public's business."

Gelerman said some town counsels and board already find ways to get around the Open Meeting Law.

"What I'm really doing is trying to have the law conform with practice," Gelerman said. "I think the general practice in the town counsel community is to have strategy sessions with the boards that are not public."