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City attorney: law does not require minutes; council approves old minutes after clerk transcriptions
Summary
After questioning whether it is appropriate to approve minutes for meetings members did not attend, the City Attorney explained that state law does not require cities to keep written minutes but that audio recordings serve as the verbatim record; council approved the backlog minutes with one dissenting vote.
Council discussion about a backlog of minutes and whether members who were not present at older meetings should vote to approve them ended with the council approving the transcribed older minutes and the city attorney explaining the legal position.
Councilmember Patty Lopez asked staff to clarify whether councilmembers should feel comfortable approving minutes for meetings they did not attend, noting concerns because some records dated back many years and because recalls took place during that period. City Attorney Padilla said there is “no legal requirement for bodies like the city to actually keep minutes,” and explained that cities routinely maintain audio recordings and produce ‘‘action minutes’’ that summarize votes and motions rather than verbatim transcripts. He said Robert’s Rules permits approval of minutes by members who were not present, because approving minutes affirms the clerk’s transcription of the record rather than endorsing every action personally.
Padilla told council the backlog appears to be record-keeping from a prior clerk’s administration and that staff were attempting to catch up. He recommended that council members who felt uncomfortable abstain, but said repeated failures to approve minutes could worsen the backlog. The council then approved the item with a roll-call vote: Lopez—No; Garcia—Yes; Fajardo—Yes; Salodio—Yes; Mendoza—Yes.
The minutes item was approved as “housekeeping,” and staff said the audio recordings remain posted and available for comparison to the transcribed minutes.
