10/08/2014 - Minutes October 8, 2014
Open Meeting Law— Training for Community Development Capital
Improvements Project ("CDCIP") Advisory Board
A. Basic Principle (§ 52-4-201(1))
A "meeting" of a public body must be open to the public, unless an
exception is available under the Act allowing the meeting to be closed.
B. Notice of Meetings (§ 52-4-202)
The Board must give not less than 24 hours public notice of each meeting.
The notice must include the:
1. agenda;
2. date;
3. time; and
4. place.
The notice must be:
1. posted (a) at the principal office of the Board and (b) on the Utah
Public Notice Website created under Utah Code § 63F-1-701; and
2. provided either (a) to a newspaper of general circulation in Salt
Lake City or (b) to a local media correspondent. This requirement is
deemed satisfied by providing notice to a newspaper or local media
correspondent under Utah Code § 63F-1-701(4)(d) [that may be a bad
cross-reference].
In addition, the Board must give annual notice of its annual meeting
schedule, specifying the date, time, and place of its scheduled meetings.
The Board is encouraged to develop and use additional electronic means of
providing notice of its meetings.
The notice requirement does not apply to emergency meetings, as long as the
Board gives the best notice practicable of the time and place of the
emergency meeting and the topics to be considered at the emergency
meeting. However, an emergency meeting may not be held unless the Board
attempts to notify all Board members and a majority of the Board members
approve holding the meeting.
C. Agendas (§ 52-4-202)
1. Degree of Specificity
A meeting notice that is required to include an agenda must provide
reasonable specificity to notify the public as to the topics to be considered at
the meeting. Each topic must be listed under an agenda item on the agenda.
(§ 52-4-202(6)(a))
2. Consideration of Matters Not On the Agenda
Generally, the Board may not take final action on a topic in an open meeting
unless the topic is (a) listed under an agenda item and (b) included in the
advance public notice. (Note: This limitation does not apply to emergency
meetings. (§ 52-4-202(6)(c))
Except with respect to emergency meetings, and at the discretion of the
presiding member of the Board, a topic raised by the public may be
discussed during an open meeting, even if the topic raised by the public was
not included in the agenda or advance public notice for the meeting, but final
action on the topic may not be taken by the Board at that time. (§ 54-2-
202(6)(b))
D. Open Meetings (§ 52-4-201)
A meeting is open to the public unless closed pursuant to the Act. (Closed
meetings are discussed in the next section.)
E. Closed Meetings (§ 52-4-204, 205)
1. Purposes of Closed Meetings (§ 52-4-205)
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a. Discussion of the character, professional competence, or physical
or mental health of an individual;
b. Strategy sessions to discuss collective bargaining;
c. Strategy sessions to discuss pending or reasonably imminent
litigation;
d. Strategy sessions to discuss the purchase, exchange, or lease of real
property, including any form of water right or water shares, if public
discussion of the transaction would:
(i) disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the property under
consideration; or
(ii) prevent the City from completing the transaction on the best
possible terms;
e. Strategy sessions to discuss the sale of real property, including any
form of water right or water shares, if:
(i) public discussion of the transaction would:
(A) disclose the appraisal or estimated value of the
property under consideration; or
(B) prevent the Board from completing the transaction on
the best possible terms;
(ii) the Board previously gave public notice that the property
would be offered for sale; and
(iii) the terms of the sale are publicly disclosed before the City
approves the sale;
f. Discussion regarding deployment of security personnel, devices, or
systems; and
g. Investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal
misconduct.
Closed meetings are also authorized for the Board to receive the advice of its
legal counsel. See Utah Code § 78B-1-137(2) (attorney-client privilege).
2. Procedure for Closing Meetings (§ 52-4-204)
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a. An open meeting must be in session with a quorum present.
b. Two-thirds of the Board members present must vote to approve closing
the meeting.
c. The meeting may be closed only to discuss a matter listed in § 52-4-205.
d. The following information must be publicly announced and entered on
the minutes:
(i) the reason or reasons for closing the meeting
(ii) the location of the closed meeting
(iii) the vote, by name, of each Board member, either for or against the
motion to close the meeting.
F. Record of Meetings (§ 52-4-203, 206)
1. Open Meetings (§ 52-4-203)
Both written minutes and a recording (i.e., an audio or an audio and video
record) must be kept of all open meetings.
The recording and minutes must include:
(a) the date, time, and place of the meeting;
(b) the names of the Board members present and absent;
(c) the substance of all matters proposed, discussed, or decided by the
Board which may include a summary of comments made by members
of the Board;
(d) a record, by individual Board member, of each vote taken by the
Board;
(e) the name of each person who is not a member of the Board and
who, upon recognition by the presiding member of the Board,
provided testimony or comments to the Board;
(f) the substance, in brief, of the testimony or comments provided by
the public under (e); and
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(g) any other information that any Board member requests be entered
in the minutes or recording.
The recording must be a complete and unedited record of all open portions
of the entire meeting and be properly labeled or identified with the date,
time, and place of the meeting.
Approved written minutes (not the recording) are the official record of the
meeting.
Approval of Minutes
The Board must make pending minutes (i.e., draft minutes that haven't yet
been approved by the Board) available to the public within a reasonable time
after holding the open meeting.
Within three business days after approving written minutes of an open
meeting, the Board must post to the Utah Public Notice Website (created
under Utah Code § 63F-1-701) and make available at the Board's primary
office a copy of the approved minutes and any public materials distributed at
the meeting.
Within three business days after holding an open meeting, the Board must
make an audio recording of the open meeting available to the public for
listening.
The Board must establish and implement procedures for the approval of the
written minutes of each meeting. The written minutes or the recording of an
open meeting that are required to be retained permanently must be
maintained in or converted to a format that meets long-term records storage
requirements.*
*According to the municipal retention schedule, the written minutes
must be retained permanently, and the recording must be retained for
at least one year.
2. Closed Meetings (§ 52-4-206)
Minutes of closed meetings are subject to slightly different rules.
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G. Electronic Meetings (§ 52-4-207)
1. Resolution, Rule, or Ordinance
The Board may not hold an electronic meeting unless it has adopted a
resolution, rule, or ordinance governing the use of electronic meetings. City
Code § 2.86.010 satisfies this requirement.
2. Electronic Messages
The Act does not restrict a Board member from transmitting an electronic
message (such as email, instant messaging, or a text message) to other Board
members at a time when the Board is not convened in an open meeting. (52-
4-210)
H. Consequences of Violating Open Meeting Law (§§ 52-4-302 to 52-4-
305)
Any final action taken in violation of certain provisions of the Act is
voidable by a court. The suit must be commenced within 90 days after the
date of the action (or 30 days in the case of the issuance of bonds, notes, or
other evidence of indebtedness).
A Board member who knowingly and intentionally violates or who
knowingly or intentionally abets or advises a violation of the closed meeting
provisions of the Act is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
K. Relevant 2014 Changes
The definition of"meeting" was modified slightly.
HB ATTY-#41658-v1-Open_Meeting_s_Training_-_CDCIP Board.DOC
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