lca opinion re bos meeting minutes requirements

7/27/2019 LCA Opinion re BOS Meeting Minutes Requirements

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Civil Division: 319/892-6340 fax: 319/892-6346 Criminal Division: 319/892-6350 fax: 319/892-6389

Juvenile Division: 319/892-6330 fax: 319/892-6339

LINN COUNTY ATTORNEYCivil Division

935 2ndStreet SWCedar Rapids, IA 52404-2100

COUNTY ATTORNEYJerry Vander Sanden

FIRST ASSISTANTNicholas G. MaybanksOffice ManagerDiane Albers

DIVISION ATTORNEYS

Felony

Jason D. BeslerJason A. BurnsNicholas L. Scott

Misdemeanor

Heidi A. Carmer

Brian D. ClaneyLaurie Craig

Lisa M. EppMatthew KishinamiRena SchulteJordan N. SchierElena Wolford

Civil

Jeffrey L. ClarkRobert A. HruskaGary P. JarvisChristine Curley-

Paralegal

Juvenile

Rebecca BelcherWilliam C. Croghan

Lance J. HeerenKelly Kaufman

PROFESSIONALSUPPORT

InvestigatorJames Noonan

Victim/WitnessChris Adcock

Anastasia Wilson

M E M O R A N D U M

TO: Board of Supervisors

FROM: Robert Hruska

DATE: March 18, 2014

RE: Minutes and Publication Applicable Law

Dear Board:

You have requested an opinion of the Linn County Attorneys Office

regarding the law relevant to the production of and newspaper publication of

minutes and proceedings of the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

It is the opinion of the Linn County Attorney that:

1. the board of supervisors must keep minutes of all boardmeetings;

2. the minutes must include those items set forth in sectionII, below;

3. transcripts or detailed descriptions of presentations anddiscussions which take place in board meetings are not

actions takenby the board and not required content ofthe meeting minutes;


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4. the minutes must be recorded by the county auditor unlessthe board, with the consent of the auditor, appoints apermanent clerk;

5. the county auditor must furnish a copy of the proceedingsto be published within one week of adjournment of themeeting;

6. altered or summary versions of minutes are not permittedfor official publication;

7. the minutes must be published at the expense of thecounty; and

8. non-required content of board minutes need not bepublished at county expense.

I. The Requirement For Recording and Publication

Iowa Code Section 21.3 (Open Meetings Law) provides that

Each governmental body shall keep minutes of all its meetings

showing the date, time and place, the members present, and theaction taken at each meeting. The minutes shall show the resultsof each vote taken and information sufficient to indicate the voteof each member present. The vote of each member present shallbe made public at the open session. The minutes shall be publicrecords open to public inspection.

Section 349.16 provides that,

There shall be published in each of said official newspapers at

the expense of the county during the ensuing year:1. The proceedings of the board of supervisors.


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In a similar manner, Section 349.18(1),Code of Iowa requires that,

All proceedings of each regular, adjourned, or special meeting ofa board of supervisors, including the schedule of bills allowed,shall be published immediately after the adjournment of themeeting.

Section 349.18(2) goes on to state that,

the publication of the schedule of the bills allowed shall include alist of all claims allowed, including salary claims for servicesperformed, showing the name of the person or firm making theclaim, the reason for the claim, and the amount of the claim.

Section 349.18(3) directs the county auditor to,

furnish a copy of the proceedings to be published, within oneweek following the adjournment of the board.

Code of Iowa, Section 331.302(8), states,

A resolution becomes effective upon passage and an ordinanceor amendment becomes a law when a summary of the ordinanceor the complete text of the ordinance is published unless asubsequent effective date is provided within the measure.

Section 331.504 provides,

The minutesof the board shall include a record of all actionstaken and the complete text of the motions, resolutions,amendments and ordinances adopted by the board.

Clearly, the law requires that minutes of meetings of a county board of

Supervisors be compiled and published in the official newspapers.


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II. Contents of Minutes of Meetings of a CountyBoard of Supervisors

As set forth above, the Code of Iowa specifically prescribes that the

contents of the minutes of a meeting of a county board of supervisors shall

include:

1. Date, time and place of the meeting;

2. Members present;

3. Actions taken;

4. Results of each vote taken;

5. The vote of each member present;

6. The schedule of bills allowed including salary claims for servicesperformed along with the name of the person or firm making the

claim; and

7. A complete text of resolutions, ordinances, or amendmentsapproved by the board of supervisors.

There is no requirement or authority in the Code of Iowa, case law ,or opinions

of the Iowa Attorney General for the inclusion of additional content within the

recorded minutes of a meeting of a county board of supervisors. There is,

however, no statutory or other prohibition against additional content.

Because the requirement to maintain minutes set forth in Section 21.3 is

specifically directed toward the governmental body, it follows that the


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inclusion of any non-required content in minutes is a policy determination

reserved exclusively for a board of supervisors. In a similar vein, since the

maintenance of minutes of meetings is the responsibility of the governmental

body, only that record approved by the body would be the official minutes

required by statute.

III. The Duty to Record and Publish

The duty to record proceedings and to maintain minutes of meetings has

been assigned by Code Section 21.3 to the individual governmental bodies

which conduct meetings. While the duty to maintain minutes resides with the

meeting body, in the specific case of a county board of supervisors, the

legislature provided the board with assistance. Section 331.504 sets forth

specific duties of a county auditor to be undertaken on behalf of a county board

of supervisors. The Iowa Code designates a county auditor as the clerk of the

board and specifically instructs the auditor to record the proceedings of the

board and to furnish a copy of the proceedings requiredto be published.

Iowa Code Section 331.211(2), provides:

The auditor shall serve as clerk to the board unless the board,with the consent of the auditor, appoints a permanent clerk. . .

Section 331.504 provides a specific duty for a county auditor to record

the proceedings of the board and instructs that the auditor,


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shall include a record of all actions taken and the complete textof the motions, resolutions, amendments and ordinances adoptedby the board.

While the content of minutes of board meetings is not left to the auditors

discretion, the Iowa Attorney General has opined that, It is the responsibility of

the County Auditor to determine the text and format of the matters required

for publication. Op. Atty Gen. 348, 1982. There is currently no authority

granting acounty auditor discretion to determine the text and format of non-

required content of minutes of board meetings. There is, as well, no current

authority allowing a county auditor to furnish, for official publication, an altered

or summary version of minutes not approved by the board. To do so might be

considered falsification of a public document in violation of Iowa Code Section

718.5.

It must be observed that there is no statutory prohibition against any

party, including a county auditor, from maintaining a separate and personal

record of a meeting of any public body. In the case of a separate record, the

contents, text and format would be determined at the pleasure of the recording

party. There is, however, no authority for the publication of a separate and

personal record in a newspaper at county expense.

In conclusion:


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1. the board of supervisors must keep minutes of all boardmeetings;

2. the minutes must include those items set forth in sectionII, above;

3. transcripts or detailed descriptions of presentations and

discussions which take place in board meetings are not,actions taken, by the board and not required content ofthe meeting minutes;

4. the minutes must be recorded by the county auditor unlessthe board, with the consent of the auditor, appoints apermanent clerk;

5. the county auditor must furnish a copy of the proceedingsto be published within one week of adjournment of themeeting;

6. altered or summary versions of minutes are not permittedfor official publication;

7. the minutes must be published at the expense of thecounty; and

8. non-required content of board minutes need not bepublished at county expense.

Sincerely,

Robert A. HruskaAssistant Linn County Attorney

lca opinion re bos meeting minutes requirements

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