Something All Rich County Governmental Boards Should Understand...But Some Do Not.

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

 

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  April 2013.  The reason for the special training meeting was to provide mandatory Open and Public Meeting Training to Garden City Public Bodies and included the individuals on the Town Council, the Planning Commission, and the Board of Adjustments. 

A meeting is a coming together of persons or things.  It is an assembly; a gathering of people, held especially to discuss or decide on matters.  If a public meeting is to be held, notice of the time and place should be made known to those who may involved or have an interest in the meeting’s agenda.  The meeting should be recorded, and the minutes written.  The recording must be kept for at least one year, and the minutes are to be kept forever.  A quorum needs to be present in order to make decisions that affect the entire group. 

All meetings should be open.  In other words, anyone who would like to attend should be allowed to do so.  There are only a few special circumstances when the meeting can be closed.  The following exceptions to the open meeting law are: if there is a matter of security, if the character of an individual is discussed, if a purchase or sale of property is pending, or if there is a matter of litigation to be discussed.  

If a closed meeting needs to be held, a quorum must be present and there should be a vote of two-thirds of those in charge to decide if the closed meeting is necessary.  The date, time, place, and why the meeting is being closed needs to be announced prior to the closure of the current meeting. 

Motions or final decisions cannot be made in the closed meeting.  Final decisions and/or ideas that have been discussed in the closed meeting should eventually be brought up in the open meeting so everyone knows what action has or will be taken.