Council amends and approves ordinance requiring electronic filing of boards and commissions materials

The Richmond City Council amended and approved a city ordinance to require that secretaries of all boards and commissions electronically furnish notices, agendas and minutes to the clerk’s office and enter those records into an appropriate document-management system within five days after approval.

Council discussed concerns about whether individual board secretaries had the capacity to comply; the ordinance directs the clerk’s office to maintain records and the clerk's office will be responsible for updates going forward. "If we as a city are sending people to our website for information, it ought to be accurate and ought to be up to date," one council member said during the discussion.

A motion to amend paragraph B as presented succeeded. A subsequent roll-call vote to carry the ordinance recorded eight ayes to one no (Gary Purcell voted no; the roll call listed Doug Goss, Lucinda Wright, Bill Engle, Anne Taylor, Gary Turner, Jane Bumbleau, Justin Burkhart and Larry Parker voting aye). The council then moved to engross the ordinance and the motion carried.

Council members said the change aims to improve compliance with Indiana’s open records requirements and to reduce inconsistencies in how boards and commissions publish appointments, terms and agendas. Community Development Coordinator Lindsay Darnell told the council she had updated the boards-and-commissions page to comply with the state's open door law and that the clerk’s office will maintain member and term-date records going forward.