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Council receives annual Open and Public Meetings Act training from city general counsel
Summary
Pleasant Grove general counsel provided the council with the required annual training on the Open and Public Meetings Act, reviewing definitions of "meeting," notice requirements, closed‑meeting procedures and criminal penalties for intentional violations.
Tina, the city's general counsel, delivered the annual Open and Public Meetings Act training required of elected officials, saying the policy is that “the people's business should be conducted in public and elected officials actions should be taken openly.”
Tina told the council the statute defines a meeting as a convening of a public body where a quorum is present for the purpose of discussing, receiving public comment about, or acting on matters under the body's jurisdiction. She emphasized that a quorum for the council is three members and noted that “the mayor in our form of government doesn't vote except in case of a tie,” so the mayor plus two council members do not constitute a quorum for voting purposes.
The training reviewed notice requirements: the council must post an annual schedule of regular meetings, and each meeting requires 24 hours' notice that includes an agenda with sufficient detail about the topics and decisions that may be made. Tina said emergency meetings are allowed only under narrow conditions and require the “best practicable notice” after efforts to notify members of the public body and approval by a majority of the body.
Tina also reviewed the limited exceptions that allow closed meetings and the process that must be followed to convene and record a closed session, including stating reasons for closing the meeting and keeping minutes or a recording for closed sessions where disclosure would not infringe a necessary confidence. She said minutes of all meetings — open and closed — must include date, time, place, who was present, who was excused and “the substance of what was discussed or decided.”
Tina warned the council that intentional violations of the act are criminal offenses and that the state attorney general enforces the law; private citizens may also sue to enforce the statute. She recommended the Utah League of Cities and Towns Powers and Duties handbook (updated edition cited in the meeting) as a training reference and said copies are available through city staff.
The presentation closed with a reminder from Tina that electronic communications (including group texts and group emails) must not be used to deliberate public business and that workshops and executive sessions fall within the act's definition of meetings.
Council members asked a few clarifying questions about which bodies must receive comparable training and about posting locations for notices. Tina said the statute encourages additional notice methods such as the city website and social media but did not commit to whether the state legislature is subject to the same annual training requirement.
The training material the counsel referenced is in the Utah League of Cities and Towns powers and duties handbook (noted in the presentation as the most recent edition).
