South Lebanon council adopts emergency resolution naming clerk as public records officer

South Lebanon City Council voted on Feb. 19 to adopt Emergency Resolution 2026-6, designating the Clerk of Council as the city's public records officer and ensuring that the required training and coverage are in place for the current council term.

Mayor Burke introduced the emergency resolution and staff explained the rationale: the city needs one trained representative for the elected body to ensure statutory obligations are met during the council term. A staff member explained that the designation ensures that "as long as she has it and she is appointed, then all elected officials are covered because she has completed that training."

Council moved to waive the two-reading rule and then voted to adopt the emergency resolution by title only. Roll-call votes were recorded with the following responses: Allen — Yay; Carmack — Yay; Combs — Yay; Better — Yay; Harrison — Yay; Smith — Yay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

The resolution was adopted to provide continuity for records management and to ensure the city has a trained public records officer for the current term; staff indicated they would file the designation and training documentation.

Next steps: staff will document the appointment and maintain training records for the Clerk of Council.