Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
County attorney advises Board of Equalization on FOIA, records, inspections and subpoenas
Summary
Sands Anderson attorney Andrew McRoberts briefed the Board of Equalization on the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, public-records retention, remote participation rules and limits on requiring interior inspections of appealed properties; he also discussed subpoenas and credibility assessments for witnesses.
Andrew McRoberts of Sands Anderson, counsel representing the Board of Equalization, told members at the March 27 meeting that the Virginia Freedom of Information Act applies fully to the board and gave specific guidance on records, meetings and evidence.
McRoberts said the statutory definition of public records is broad: "If it's in your possession and it has to do with your public business, then it's probably a public record." He explained that notes taken by members are public records but, under records-retention rules, personal notes generally do not need to be retained permanently: "Notes are public records... but notes don't fall into any category under the Records Retention Act that need to be retained." The attorney and assessor's staff also said the Library of Virginia guidance allows the board to dispose of informal notes after the meeting unless a specific…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
