City counsel reviews South Dakota open-meetings rules with Mitchell commission
Summary
City counsel walked the Mitchell Planning Commission through required annual open-meetings materials, including notice requirements, public-comment rules and permissible executive-session topics under South Dakota law (SDCL 1-25-2). The commission accepted the guidance and moved on with no further questions.
Mitchell — City counsel delivered the commission’s required annual review of South Dakota open-meetings laws, outlining when meetings must be open to the public, how notices and materials must be posted, and the narrow circumstances that permit executive sessions.
Counsel (S4) explained that public bodies exercising sovereign power must follow the state’s open-meetings laws, which include posting notice of official meetings at least 24 hours in advance and making meeting materials available online when provided to board members. “South Dakota codified law 1 dash 25 dash 2 provides several categories of discussions that may be done in executive session,” S4 said, summarizing the statutory basis for closed sessions and noting that any action on matters discussed in executive session must occur in open session.
S4 also reviewed common issues: what qualifies as an open meeting (including in-person and remote meetings when a quorum is present), the scope of permissible group communications, reasonable rules for recording by the public, and allowable public-comment limits. The attorney general’s brochure was offered as a resource for additional detail.
The commission accepted the review with no recorded questions and proceeded to other business.
