Levan council receives annual OPMA training, tightens rules on records and communications

Shay Morrison of the Six County Association of Governments led the Town of Levan’s annual Open and Public Meetings Act (OPMA) training at a Feb. 12 work session, telling council members how to comply with notice, quorum, records and closed-session rules.

Morrison opened by noting his role: “I am not an attorney and my opinions are not legal advice,” and proceeded to review the law’s core requirements for public bodies and municipal practice. He told the council that meeting notices must state the date, time and location and include an agenda listing each topic on which action will be taken; items not on the posted agenda cannot be acted on until the next properly noticed meeting.

The presenter stressed that audio and video recordings must remain complete and unedited. “Recordings should never be edited and must run from the start to the end of meetings,” Morrison said, and added that recordings must include date, time and place and be made available to the public within three business days (posting online is optional). He also summarized minutes requirements: pending minutes must be made available within 30 days while approved minutes should be posted within three business days of approval.

Morrison reviewed quorum and voting thresholds for Levan’s five-member council: a simple majority (three of five) is generally required for ordinary votes, while entering closed session requires a two-thirds vote—four of five members. When Council Member Ray Evans asked for clarification on supermajority rules, Morrison confirmed the four-member threshold for executive sessions.

On communications and records, Morrison warned that many materials are subject to GRAMA (the Government Records Access and Management Act) and urged caution with text messages and emails. He advised limiting group texts or emails that include a quorum to informational material only, because such exchanges can be requested under GRAMA. He also recommended moving toward formal municipal email addresses and noted the town has a levantown.gov domain but has not fully implemented it.

Morrison discussed practical steps for personnel matters and hiring: because closed sessions are limited by statute and must not include formal voting, he suggested appointing a small hiring committee (for example, the mayor plus one council member) to conduct interviews and make recommendations to the full council.

The training also covered electronic meetings and streaming. Morrison said communities should adopt an ordinance to authorize electronic meetings — a practice that became common during the COVID era — and that streaming options would likely fall under that ordinance. Morrison noted uncertainty about whether Levan has adopted such an ordinance.

He concluded the OPMA portion of the orientation by pointing the council toward training resources, including the Land Use Academy (luau.utah.gov) and the Six County Growth Summit on May 6 for additional land-use and governance training.

Morrison also agreed to follow up on a pending contract matter: he reported the CBD contract had been signed by the mayor and sent to the state but that there was some confusion whether the state had received the signed copy; he said he would double-check the status. The work session adjourned at 6:51 p.m.