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Smithfield council debates ending closed‑session minutes; motion proposed and carried
Summary
Councilman Bowman moved to stop creating minutes or recordings of closed sessions; members and the interim town attorney debated transparency, FOIA exemptions and subpoena risk before the council proceeded without recording the closed session.
Councilman Bowman moved at the March 3 meeting that the Smithfield Town Council stop taking minutes, recordings or records of closed sessions effective immediately. "There be no more minutes or recordation or records taken of closed meetings, by the Smithfield Town Council effective this evening," Bowman said when making the motion.
Several council members objected or urged caution. Councilman Cutler and others argued that keeping some record supports accuracy and accountability; Cutler said he was "surprised" that government allows closed-session business to proceed without any record and suggested the town could be the first in the state to keep such records for transparency. Council members and a public commenter raised concerns that eliminating records would reduce the ability to resolve later disputes.
Interim town attorney McKenzie described legal trade-offs: while the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires that the motion to enter closed session identify the exemption used and that council must certify only those topics were discussed, creating minutes or transcripts carries the risk that those materials could later be subject to subpoena or other disclosure. McKenzie described a "spectrum" of options—from statutory baseline certification to summary minutes to full transcription—and warned of practical and legal pitfalls in producing more detailed records.
After debate and a roll-call, the council proceeded into the closed session and, per subsequent comments and the meeting record, did not take recordings or verbatim minutes for that closed session. Public commenters later criticized the move in public comment, saying it undercuts accountability.
The meeting record shows the council discussed possible middle paths — brief summary minutes — but the immediate motion, as moved and seconded, carried in that meeting and the closed session convened without a public transcription.
Next procedural step: no further formal action to codify a permanent change to closed-session recordkeeping was presented at the meeting; some members suggested a public hearing or committee review before any permanent policy change.
