At its Nov. 20 meeting the Scott County Board of Supervisors approved the consent agenda (paragraphs 6 through 10) by voice vote and later moved to a closed session to discuss labor-negotiation strategy under Iowa Code section 20.173.

Consent agenda: An unidentified board member moved to approve the consent agenda and the board seconded and approved the motion by voice vote. The chair said, "Motion carries." The board did not record a roll call for the consent vote in the transcript excerpt.

Closed session: Later in the meeting Jean moved that the board go into closed session "for discussion. Strategy for upcoming labor negotiations with Scott County organized employees pursuant to Iowa code section 20.173." A second was recorded and the board took a roll-call vote. The clerk recorded ayes from Maxwell, Poston, Beck, Rubisco and Dixon, and the chair stated, "We are in closed session."

Why it matters: A closed session under Iowa Code  20.173 allows the board to confer privately about collective-bargaining strategy. The transcript shows the board followed the statutory citation when making the motion and recorded the roll-call ayes; no votes were recorded in opposition or as abstentions in the excerpt provided.

Next steps: The board paused to allow nonparticipating members of the public and staff to leave the room and proceeded into closed session. No additional formal actions on record were taken in open session after that point in the transcript provided.