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County counsel delivers annual open-meetings training; notice and closed-session rules emphasized
Summary
A presenter led the board through updates to the Open Meetings Act, stressing 24-hour public notice, agenda specificity, the definition of a meeting/quorum and permissible member discussions; members asked how to handle filming and 'First Amendment auditors.'
A presenter delivering the open-meetings training summarized recent clarifications in state law about what constitutes a "meeting" and how members of a public body may communicate. The presenter noted that public notice should be provided 24 hours in advance and should include a reasonably specific agenda; he emphasized that "you can't take final action on a topic unless that topic is listed as an agenda item," with the exception of emergency meetings.
The trainer also discussed closed-session rules and enforcement, including that certain closed-session discussions require a two-thirds (0.667) majority and that the attorney general and county attorneys may enforce the statute. Board members asked questions about members filming meetings, live streams and how staff should handle first-amendment auditors who record meetings in public areas. The trainer recommended procedural clarity for staff about handling disruptive recording behavior and preserving records when litigation is threatened.
