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Canton commission reviews new requirement for annual open-meetings training
Summary
At a Canton commission meeting, a staff member summarized a statute passed in February 2025 requiring local governments to perform an annual review of open-meetings laws and acknowledge that review; commissioners also approved the consent calendar by recorded voice votes.
A staff member told the Canton commission that a statute passed in February 2025 requires local governments to conduct an annual review of open-meetings laws and acknowledge completion.
Sam, a staff member, told commissioners that “in 02/2025, we passed the statute that said that there needed to be an annual review of all the open meetings laws and an acknowledgment by local units of government, which includes cities.” Sam said the review follows guidance from the attorney general’s office and referenced the attorney general’s document titled “Conducting the Public’s Business.”
The presentation came after the meeting approved the consent calendar. Commissioners recorded votes of “aye” from Commissioner Spears, Garbers, Carlson and Hailey Lutzfeld to adopt the consent calendar after a motion and second were taken.
Sam also asked the mayor to schedule a makeup training session for a person identified as Mr. York, saying, “Mayor, I would refer to you on when we can get a makeup class set up for mister York. He, he can’t mess this. I think we’ll — we’ll make sure he’s taken care of.” The mayor did not provide a public timetable during the excerpted discussion.
The staff presentation identified the statutory citation discussed as Title 1 25 and specifically referenced section 1 25 13 and the attorney general’s materials as the basis for the review requirement. No formal enforcement action or sanctions were announced during the excerpted discussion; the conversation focused on explaining the statutory requirement and coordinating training.
The commission did not take additional formal action on the open-meetings review in the provided transcript excerpt. Staff said it would follow the statute and the attorney general’s guidance; the mayor and staff indicated they would arrange the requested makeup training for Mr. York.
