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City attorney reviews open-meetings and ethics rules for council members
Summary
City Attorney Jayme Blakesley reviewed the Open and Public Meetings Act and the Municipal Officers & Employees Ethics Act, emphasizing notice requirements for quorums, required minutes/recordings, and when written or oral disclosures are required for conflicts of interest.
City Attorney Jayme Blakesley provided the council with annual training on the Open and Public Meetings Act and the Municipal Officers & Employees Ethics Act during the Jan. 28 meeting.
Blakesley explained that any time there is a quorum of three or more council members it must be noticed as a public meeting with a posted agenda at least 24 hours in advance; minutes and recordings are normally required. She described which ordinances require public hearings (salary schedules, tax levies, budgets, land use regulations, impact fees, and disposition of real property) and explained limited exceptions and the requirements for lawful closed sessions. On ethics, Blakesley reviewed when written disclosures are required for regulated business or doing business with the city and noted an oral disclosure obligation in meetings for certain conflicts. She also noted an exception allowing occasional nonpecuniary gifts under $50.
Blakesley urged council members to avoid discussing substantive city business in social or chance meetings when a quorum is present and to follow the timing rules for disclosures when officials have regulated-business relationships or personal investments.
