5.D. PRSR 07-12-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Rule 24. Minutes Full and accurate minutes of the board proceedings, including closed sessions, shall be kept. The board shall also keep a general account of any closed session so that a person not in attendance would have a reasonable understanding of what transpired. These minutes and general accounts shall be open to inspection of the public, except as otherwise provided in this rnle. The exact wording of each motion and the results of each vote shall be recorded in the minutes, and on the request of any member of the board, the entire board shall be polled by name on any vote. Members' and other persons' comments may be included in the minutes if the board approves. Minutes and general accounts of closed sessions may be sealed by action of the board. Such sealed minutes and general accounts maybe withheld from public inspection so long as public inspection would frustrate the purpose of the closed session. Comment: The open meetings law requires that full and accurate minutes be maintained of all official meetings of ail public bodies, including closed sessions [G.S. 143-318.11(a)]. The minutes are the official legal record of board actions and aze a matter of public record. To be "full and accurate," they must include all actions taken by the board and must note the existence of conditions needed to take action, such as the existence of a quorum. However, the minutes need not record the board's discussion. Particulaz comments by members or other persons may be included in the minutes if the board so desires. Since the boazd usually takes action by motion (Rule 8), all motions that are made must be included in the minutes, along with a record of the motions' disposition. The mle also allows any member to request that the minutes include a record of how each member voted. Under the open meetings law, the boazd must also keep a "general account" of what transpires in closed sessions. This wording probably requires that a somewhat more detailed account of these sessions be kept than would typically be found in the minutes, especially if the minutes record only action :and conditions needed to take action. Tl.e boazd should consult with its attorney concerning what general accounts of closed sessions should include. Finally, the rule includes the pemrission granted in G.S. 143-318.11(e) to withhold minutes and general accounts of closed sessions from public inspection for as long as necessary to avoid frnstrating the purpose of the closed session. Note that the statu+.e perndts, but does not require, closed session minutes and general accounts to be sealed. The board should vote to seal these records if it wishes to do so or is advised to do so by its attorney. It must also provide for their unsealing, either by boazd action or by action of an agent of the board, such as its attorney, if and when the closed session's purpose would no longer be frustrated by making these records public. For a discussion of minutes and genera] accounts of closed sessions, see David M. Lawrence, "1997 Changes to the Open Meetings and Public Records Laws," Local Government Law Bulletin No. 80 (August 1997). Rule 25. Appointments The board may consider and make appointments to other'bodies, including its own committees, if any, only in open stssion. The board may not consider or fill a vacancy among its own membership except in open .a sesstgrl,~ The board shall use the following procedure to make appointments to various other boards and committees: [The appointtnent committee of the board shall report on nominations received and reviewed