Staff member reports missing minutes prompted open-meeting complaint; records produced and complaint withdrawn

At a Fall River City trustees meeting, a staff member told trustees that an open-meeting-law complaint was filed after requested meeting minutes from 2020–2023 could not be located. The staff member said the missing physical binder of minutes was located and that the records were provided to the requester, who then withdrew the complaint.

The complaint arose when a resident sought minutes spanning 2020 through July 2, 2026, and staff initially could not find some binders. The staff member described searching departmental files and then locating older minutes in a collection maintained by a staffer named Fran. "We were able to kind of fulfill the whole request and the gentleman did withdraw the complaint," the staff member said.

Trustees and staff discussed how some meetings during the COVID period were canceled or held by Zoom, and how some records existed only as printed copies. The staff member said a departing employees computer had failed and that the employee had kept hard copies of minutes rather than saving them digitally, limiting immediate access to electronic files.

The staff member outlined the practice adopted since January 2025: meetings are recorded, draft minutes are prepared and presented at the next trustees meeting for approval, then approved minutes are filed digitally and also submitted to the city clerk so the clerk maintains independent copies. "We have the trustees approve them, so that's our process of approval," the staff member said. The staff member added that the rescued binders were submitted to the clerk's office to create a backdated official record.

A trustee asked whether filing approved minutes with the city clerk is mandatory under law. The staff member said a city court contact told them filing is recommended as a best practice but not strictly mandatory. The transcript records the staff member saying the board met within the 14-day response window for the complaint and that the complainant expressed satisfaction after receiving the records.

The meeting ended on a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote; the transcript records only the vocal "Aye" responses and does not provide a roll-call tally. No other formal actions or votes on ordinances or policies were recorded in the transcript.

Recorded attendees named in the transcript included Felicia Desmeris (library director) and assistant administrator Caitlin King; several trustees were called at roll call but speakers in the recorded discussion are identified only by role (Chair and Staff member) in the transcript.

The trustees did not set a follow-up action item in the recorded discussion beyond continuing the current procedure of filing approved minutes with the clerk; the staff member recommended maintaining both physical and digital copies going forward.