Senior Advisory Board to Accept New City Secretary Minutes Format; staff to start taking official minutes in June

Farmers Branch staff told the Senior Advisory Board on a routine agenda item that the city secretary has standardized how minutes will appear across advisory boards and commissions and that staff liaisons will prepare the official minutes beginning with June meetings.

The change matters because it alters who prepares the official record: staff — not volunteer board secretaries — will take the minutes that are included in the board packet and used as the official record. A staff presenter summarized the policy to the board: "they're kinda reformatting the way that y'all receive minutes," and said that board secretaries may continue to take notes but those notes "should not be labeled as board notes and added to the board packet as a supplementary document." The presenter added that such notes "can remain part of the agenda packet, but they are not to be voted on."

Board members asked procedural questions about the change and how it will appear in packets going forward. Staff said the format is intended to show the board's actions and general discussions in the city secretary's document style and that the June meeting would follow the new format.

Discussion-only items included who will be responsible for note-taking during meetings and whether the supplemental notes will be clearly labeled. There was no formal motion recorded to change the minutes practice during the meeting; the board did approve the April 10, 2025 minutes earlier in the session by voice vote after a motion to approve was made and seconded. The minutes-formatting change was presented as an administrative update from staff rather than a board action.

Board members indicated they understood the change and asked staff to ensure the packet attachments and labeling make clear which documents are official minutes and which are supplemental notes.