Council receives annual Open and Public Meetings (OPMA) and GRAMA briefing

During the Feb. 20 meeting the presiding councilmember read portions of the Open and Public Meetings Act and the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) as the council’s required annual training.

The briefing emphasized several statutory requirements: a public body must conduct deliberations openly; a quorum convening to discuss public business constitutes a meeting; the public must be given notice of regular meeting times at least annually and agendas at least 24 hours in advance; emergency meetings require best possible notice and majority approval; and closed meetings are limited to the specific purposes described in the law (employee matters, legal issues, bargaining, etc.).

The GRAMA portion covered record classifications (public, private, controlled, protected), the town’s responsibility to appoint records officers (the speaker identified Melanie as the town’s records officer), and the town’s duty to provide public records at reasonable times. The council discussed the practical timing of recording and minutes: the clerk noted the town had been releasing recordings within three days of approval although the handbook language read in the briefing suggested different timing; the speaker said he would discuss the discrepancy with Misty and the auditor.

No policy changes were made at the meeting; the briefing was recorded to satisfy the annual training requirement and council members were asked to ensure planning commission members receive similar training when appropriate.