Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Meetings Act topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County attorney leads Open Meetings Act refresher for Daggett County commissioners
Summary
Daggett County attorney Kent Snyder led a comprehensive Open Meetings Act training that covered when gatherings count as public meetings, electronic-communication rules, notice and agenda specificity, emergency meetings and permissible reasons for closed sessions.
County attorney Kent Snyder led an Open Meetings Act training for the Daggett County Commission, reviewing when gatherings of officials become public meetings and what the commission must post and record. "We're just gonna go through a few slides here in just a moment," Snyder told commissioners as he began the session; the training included an 11-question quiz to reinforce key points.
Snyder emphasized that a quorum — in this body, two of the three officials present — can create a public meeting if members discuss matters within the county's jurisdiction, whether at a site visit, over lunch, or in a workshop. He also warned that electronic communications can trigger open-meeting obligations: "If you're sending things or an email back and forth with each other during a meeting, then technically, that it needs to be open," Snyder said, adding that information exchanged during recesses should be placed on the record if it is later relied upon.
The training covered notice and agenda requirements: Snyder noted the Utah Open Meetings Act is located in Title 52 and that proper public-meeting notice should include date, time, place and an agenda with "reasonable specificity" so the public can understand what will be discussed. Snyder closed by reminding the commission that county staff should publish an annual schedule of regular meetings and make staff reports and supporting materials accessible via hyperlinks when appropriate.
