The Los Alamos County Council on Jan. 7 adopted Resolution 25‑1, establishing minimum standards for public notice for council, county boards, commissions and county‑appointed committees. The resolution passed unanimously after two targeted amendments.

County Manager Laurent and County Attorney Leppart explained that the resolution restates the minimum notice required by the New Mexico Open Meetings Act and that it applies to council‑created bodies and county appointed committees. Leppart noted the statutory requirement: if an agenda is not published within the minimum timeframe, the item cannot legally be considered at that meeting.

Councilors discussed two specific changes during the public hearing: removing a reference to a now‑sunsetted “nuisance code implementation review task force” from the resolution, and moving the March 4 regular meeting date to March 11 to avoid conflicts with the National Association of Counties federal legislative conference. Councilor Reedy and others said it was easier to change the calendar now than to cancel and call a special meeting later.

Resident Charlie Trask urged the council to broaden routine notice beyond the county’s posted paper boxes and local daily post. “The citizens need other avenues to open the council actions up and let some sunshine in,” he said, recommending automated email distribution to subscribers and wider distribution to local news outlets.

Councilor Hammond asked County Attorney Leppart to clarify legal consequences if the agenda is not published in time; Leppart replied that failure to publish the agenda prevents consideration of items not on the published agenda and said the Open Meetings Act requires only the agenda, not the entire packet, to be published. Staff also told the council that the official physical posting locations outside the county building remain the official notice if the website goes down.

After a second motion to adopt the resolution incorporating the two amendments, the council voted and the resolution passed unanimously. County staff said they will post the amended calendar and continue outreach about how to receive agenda notices.