The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County is changing how it awards money to clean up blighted properties in the wake of a report that found it violated the Sunshine Law.

The county's Office of Inspector General determined in a recent report that the Solid Waste Authority violated a state law requiring the public's business be conducted in open meetings when a committee handed out $500,000 in beautification grants to cities earlier this year.

The Solid Waste Authority, which provides trash disposal and recycling services, should have given public notice of the committee meeting and kept minutes, according to Inspector General John A. Carey's report. The investigation did not uncover "willful intent" to violate the Sunshine Law.