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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOpen Meeting Law 8/10/97 OPEN MEETING LAW City of Prior Lake I Park Advisory Committee Meeting August 10, 1998 ,. ~ ... .... .. ':: ...... .'.. .' .I Meeting Highlights 1. What is a meeting? There is no statutory definition of a meeting. Generally, a meeting is a gathering of a quorum of public officials where they receive or discuss information or make decisions. 2. What is the Open Meeting Law? The Open Meeting Law requires that all meetings of governing bodies be open to the public. The law also requires that notice be given before the meeting and minutes be taken at the meeting. 3. To what groups does it apply? The Open Meeting Law applies to all public bodies, including city councils, committees, sub-committees, boards, commissions (appointed or elected), firefighter relief associations, Economic Development Authorities, and Housing and Redevelopment Authorities. 4. To what gatherings does it apply? The Open Meeting Law applies to all meetings, hearings, executive sessions, work sessions, retreats, and any other gathering of a quorum where the members discuss, decide, or receive information as a group on issues relating to the official business of the governing body. 5. Are there any meetings that may be closed? There are some meetings that are permitted to be closed:' However, the notice requirements of the meeting must still be followed. The following meetings may be closed: . Meetings to consider strategies for labor negotiations. The council must state the reason for closing the meeting and tape record the meeting. The tape must be kept for two years and will be public information after the agreement is finalized. . Attorney-client privilege. A meeting may be closed to discuss threatened or pending litigation with the city's attorney. The attorney MUST be present at the meeting. 1 ./ ~ . Employee performance evaluations. The public body must identify the individual to be evaluated prior to closing the meeting. At the next open meeting, the council must summarize its conclusions regarding the evaluation. Although this type of meeting may be closed, it MUST be open at the request of the individual who is the subject of the meeting, so advance notice to the individual is needed. 6. Are there any meetings that MUST be closed? The following meetings are required to be closed: + Preliminary consideration of allegations or charges against an individual subject to the council's authority. Ifmembers decide that discipline is warranted, further meetings must be open. The meeting MUST be open at the request of the individual who is the subject of the meeting, so advance notice to this person is needed. + Portions of a meeting at which some not-public data is discussed. Such data includes data that would identify victims or reporters of domestic abuse, criminal sexual conduct and certain other specific data. See the League research memo Meetings of City Councils (LMC l40B.l) for a further discussion. 7. What are the notice requirements for a meeting? + Regular meetings. A schedule of the regular meetings must be kept on file in the city office. If the city decides to hold a regular meeting at a different time or place, it must give notice. + Special meetings. A city must post written notice of a special meeting on its principal bulletin board or on the door of its usual meeting room if it doesn't have a bulletin board. The notice must also be mailed to each individual who has filed a written request for notice of special meetings. This must be done at least three days before the meeting. As an alternative to mailing or delivering notice, the city can publish the notice in the official newspaper. . Closed meetings. The same notice requirements apply to closed meetings as open meetings. . 11 ~ . Emergency meetings. An "emergency meeting" is a special meeting which requires immediate consideration by the public body. Posted or published notice of an emergency meeting is not' required. However, the city must make a good faith effort to notify each news medium that has filed a written request for notice. Notice must be given by telephone or any other method to notify members of the public body. . Recessed or continued meetings. When a meeting is recessed or continued to another time or place, no additional notice is needed if the time and place of the recessed or continued meeting was established during the previous part of the meeting and also recorded in the minutes of that part of the meeting. 8. What are common problems in applying the law? ? . . Data practices. Generally, a council cannot close a meeting to discuss non-public data. However, there are some limited situations where a meeting must be closed to discuss certain data. See the League research memo Meetings of City Councils (LMC l40B.l) for a further discussion. . Council liaisons. A council liaison can be used to gather information and report on it to the council. However, cities sometimes can get into trouble if they send more than one member of the council to such functions. . Serial meetings. Meetings of less than a quorum that are held in a serial fashion to discuss city business and arrive at a decision are considered to be a violation of the Open Meeting Law. . Social gatherings. Generally, a chance social gathering of a quorum will not constitute a meeting. But if a quorum of councilmembers discuss any city business, it can be a violation of the Open Meeting Law. . Technology trouble. Telephone conversations can constitute a violation of the open meeting law if used to discuss city business with other councilmembers. Likewise, councilmembers should exercise caution when using electronic mail. III 9.. What if the Open Meeting Law is intentionally violated? Intentional violations of the law can result in the following: @ . . . . Up to a $300 fine Attorney's fees of up to $13,000 Removal from office Possible invalid action 10. What about voting at meetings? Many questions seem to arise concerning how to count votes at council meetings:" The following topics are some of the more common ones: . Vacancies. Generally, a vacancy temporarly reduces the size of the council. . Absences. Generally, an absence does not reduce the number of votes needed to pass an ordinance. . Abstentions. There is no specific law that clarifies whether an abstention serves to defeat or help pass a motion. How the vote is counted may depend upon the reason for the abstention. . Voting by telephone or proxy. A council member must be present at the meeting in order to cast a vote. He or she may not vote by telephone or proxy. . Audience participation. It is suggested that councils not take a vote of audience members matters before the council. Such votes are not binding on the council and often lead to criticisms and misunderstandings by the public. rI:n 11. What is required to be in the minutes? The city clerk has discretion as to how to take the minutes. However, there is certain information that is required to be included in the official minutes. In addition, it is suggested that cities include any findings of facts and conclusions which the council makes. Specific reasoning behind a conclusion should also be included (such as economic, social, political, safety, etc.) The following information MUST be included in the minutes: IV al MW'-,''''.. . "<<*:>:'>>:;...~ ~ . The members who are present . The people who make and second motions . Roll call vote on motions . Character of the resolution or ordinance . Whether the motion, ordinance or resolution was defeated or adopted . The votes of each member 9. Must the minutes be published? All statutory cities with populations of 1,000 or more must publish their minutes or a summary of them in their official newspaper within 30 days of the meeting. However, these cities may mail a copy to any resident upon request instead of publishing them. Statutory cities with populations less than 1,000 do not need to meet either of these requirements. Home rule charter cities should consult their charters for any requirements. 10. Where can cities get fu~ther information? The League of Minnesota Cities has several publications available that discuss issues relating to meetings in more detail. Call the League's Research and Information Service for further information. " It v