1987 Rec./Disb./Resolutions & Minutes

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C/~ C)e,ks !hetnucY/. · Pre~ reel b.y /Y7UI1I'C jJ~/ Clerks t,hAcrJ?c;e ()-(Hc,Yfr;-s f) . .:L hel J.. le&1 ue ffhlf} C"-I1' n"b 5oCIc:lfton () f 1bK/ In order that p~ e btrafii.sfled tf?ij a city "7 a t~e recorder 'as f~ administrative tool to tape council has complied with the jurisdictional re- parts of council proceedings to help them prepare quirements for holding a meeting, it is important the written minutes afterwards. After the official that the minutes include the following: minutes are completed, the tape is erased and used 1 The date hour and place of the meeting over again in some cities, and in others, the tape is ., · preserved as an official record. There is some 2. Whether it was a regular meeting, ad- doubt about this question, since there has been no journed meeting or a special meeting. ruling on this specific use of tape recordings. How- 3. The giving of proper notice to the mem- ~.ver, the statut.e (M.S. 1.5.17). requires reco!ds bers of the governing body in the case of a made .. · .. · I~,connectlon With the transaction special meeting. of public bUSiness to be preserved. To be on the safe side, if this use of tape recording is contempla- 4. ~h~ names of the members of the coun. ted, it would be wise to have approval (usually cllln attendance. routine) of the Department of Administration of a I n case a councilmember arrives at or departs schedule for co~tinuou~ a.nd regular destruction of from a meeting after its commencement, the the taped material after It IS no longer needed (M.S. minutes should show the time of arrival or depar- 138.17). ture of such member with respect to the stage of the proceedings when this occurred. While the minutes should be as accurate as possible, this does not mean that the clerk should enter into. the minutes every remark made at the meeting. Actually, the amount of detail recorded in the minutes varies considerably according to the custom and desires within each municipality. As a mlnimum~ the minutes should reflect each subject or item considered and the language of and the dis- position of each. motion, resolution or ordinance voted upon. With respect to special matters, such as annexation, zoning and liquor licensing hearings, considerably more detail may be needed. It is well for the clerk to check periodically with the muni- cipal attorney ~o insure that all legal requirements . are met, since the content of the minutes can sometimes determine the outcome of litigation. One exception to the general rule that reference to, or a verbatim transcript of, a councilmember's re- marks need not appear in the minutes is the in- stance where he specifically requests that his re- marks be included in the minutes. In this situation, the governing body or clerk may want to insist that the member approve the form and contents of the remarks before making them a part of the record. \A".; \. , -./ Two reasons for omitting debates, arguments and discussions of members from the minutes of proceedings are that minutes should only record the "actions" taken by the govern ing body, not " "f take h. reasons . or Ing suc action. and second. that Inclusion makes the minutes unduly long. How- ever, it may be important with respect to certain decisions to make sure the evidence and testimony the council considered be summarized in the minutes. This is discussed later in this chapter. The question of whether or not the clerk tape records council sessions may arise. Some clerks use Petitions and Communications. It is suggested that minutes respecting petitions and communica- tions generally need only record: 1. The date of the document and where it is filed. 2. The subject to which it relates or the re- quest contained therein. 3. The name of the author or authors, if only a few. 4. The numberofsigners, if they are numerous. s. The action taken with respect to the docu- ment, such as its reference to a particular officer or committee .for investigation and report, or a resolution adopted with res- pect thereto. Reports of Officers. Since any written report of an officer is normally the best evidence of its contents, a written report presented at a meeting generally need only be mentioned in the minutes by reference to: 1. The name and title of the person presenting the report. 2. The date of the report. 3. The subject or title of the report. 4. The disposition made by the council of the report, if any. The same basic information should be recorded with respect to oral reports made by an officer at a 1978