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City attorney briefs council on open-meetings rules and ethics disclosures
Summary
Eric Johnson, introduced as the city attorney, gave the council a plain-language briefing on the Open and Public Meetings Act and Utah ethics rules, stressing that three members must not deliberate outside a public meeting, that emails/texts about city business are public records, and recommending written annual conflict disclosures.
Eric Johnson, the city’s attorney, told the Richfield City Council that state open‑meetings and ethics rules limit off‑the‑record deliberations and make many electronic communications public. "You should not be deliberating together about city matters outside of an open public meeting," Johnson said, adding that communications such as emails and texts concerning city business are subject to public inspection even when on personal devices.
Johnson explained common compliance steps and practical precautions. He said council members may participate electronically if the agenda states electronic participation and the meeting maintains an anchor location for the public. On conflicts of interest he recommended annual, written statements that disclose standing conflicts and suggested members submit written notices to the mayor for case‑by‑case issues. Johnson noted that Utah law allows more discretion in some small communities but cautioned that legal compliance alone may not satisfy public expectations.
Why this matters: Council members heard explicit guidance on the practical limits of private communications, the need to retain city‑related messages, and the reputational risks when legally permitted conduct still appears problematic to residents. Johnson also advised how the city should handle legal defense when a council member’s private interests conflict with the city’s interests.
Council response and next steps: Members asked clarifying questions about when to recuse, differences between abstention and recusal, and whether standing conflicts require additional disclosures. Johnson recommended an annual renewal for known standing conflicts and advised members to document other conflicts in writing to the mayor. The briefing concluded with the suggestion that staff add standard language to agendas clarifying potential electronic participation by council members.
The training was delivered at the beginning of the meeting as an agenda item and counted toward the council’s annual OPMA training documentation, which auditors later noted had not been previously recorded for all members.
