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Brentwood to update open meetings and records policy after Missouri law changes; clerical fee recalculated
Summary
City staff recommended code updates to reflect recent Missouri Sunshine Law changes — including clarified response windows (90 days, 150 days for large estimated fees) and a provision allowing payment before fulfilling requests — and noted the clerical hourly charge should be updated to $44.44.
Octavia briefed the committee on legislative changes to the Missouri Sunshine Law and recommended updates to Brentwood’s open meetings and records policy. "The Missouri Sunshine Law basically states that every record or meeting of a municipal government is open," Octavia said, and she described new statutory clarifications that expand exemptions and set response timelines.
The changes Octavia outlined include expanded exemptions (reports of allegations of improper governmental activities, security system information, protected minor information and other categories), a 90-day response default for record requests (150 days if estimated fees exceed $1,000), and explicit authority to require payment before fulfilling requests in some cases. Because the city has adopted the Sunshine Law via its code (chapter 145), Octavia said the city must amend its municipal code.
Octavia also noted a housekeeping fee update: the clerical-salary-based charge used for research on records requests had not been updated in about 10 years and should be adjusted to $44.44 per hour based on current salaries. The committee moved to forward the ordinance amendment to the full board for approval.
