Council approves resolution to review and possibly release executive session minutes; tapes may be discarded after approval

The Glendale City Council approved a resolution to review and consider release of executive session minutes and discussed the city’s retention of recorded meeting tapes.

Under the adopted resolution (item 25C-0338), the council reviewed schedules identifying recordings that may be eligible for destruction. City legal counsel explained that the written minutes are the official record and that tapes may be discarded after the minutes are transcribed and approved by the council. One councilmember raised concern about recordings that might be relevant to ongoing litigation (referred to in the transcript as the Parker litigation) and asked whether certain recordings should be retained as a precaution.

Nut graf: While the legal counsel described standard record-retention practice — keeping minutes as the official record and disposing of tapes after approval — the council recorded a caution from at least one member about preserving recordings tied to unresolved litigation.

Discussion: Council members asked about a date appearing on the resolution (Aug. 18) and whether it needed correction to reflect the current meeting date; staff said that could be adjusted. The legal explanation in the meeting indicated that approved minutes are the legal record and recorded tapes are not necessary once that process is complete.

Action: The council moved, seconded and approved the resolution on review and possible release of executive session minutes. The roll-call vote was recorded and the motion carried.

Ending: The council directed staff to correct date inconsistencies in the resolution document and proceed according to the standard practice described by legal counsel; a councilmember asked staff to consider retaining recordings relevant to ongoing litigation until the litigation is resolved.