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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent

The reason each city needs training on Utah Open and Public Meetings Act (OPMA) is to keep the mayor out of jail.

So joked Kasey Wright, city attorney, as he began the training of the city council and mayor on the requirements needed to be in compliance with the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.

The mayor has administrative and executive responsibility and the city council has legislative responsibility. One of the mayor’s duties is to make certain that the council is trained in OPMA.

“The mayor does not have a vote, except in case of a tie, but one duty he does have is to be in control of the council meeting. It is his meeting,” said Wright.

Therefore, the mayor is to make certain that the agenda is followed and that order is maintained.

“The people’s business should be done in public,” said Wright. “That’s the bottom line. Any meeting that spends the public’s money should be open.”

The Legislature, in the Declaration of Public Policy, declares that the state, its agencies and political subdivisions exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business.

It is the intent of the Legislature that all actions be taken openly and that all deliberations are open to the public. Any body that distributes or are supported by tax money and has the authority to make decisions about the public’s business is subject to the open meetings act.

“Every public meeting needs to have 24-hours prior notice,” said Wright.

The notice should include an agenda with all action items stated, the date, time and place.

“What is a meeting?” he asked. “A meeting is the convening of a public body with a quorum present.”

If there are three or more council members present, unless one of them is the mayor, where public business is discussed, that is a meeting, he said.

“A chance or social meeting is not a meeting,” he said.

A legislative body with both legislative and executive responsibilities where no public funds are appropriated or a meeting solely for discussion or to implement administrative or operational matters is not a meeting under definition of the act.

“Meetings can be closed if two-thirds of the council votes to go into closed meeting,” said Wright. “The council must first hold a public meeting with proper notice before entering the closed meeting.”

The council must publicly disclose the vote by name of each member for or against closing the meeting, the reasons for holding the closed meeting, and the location of the meeting.

The most common reason for a closed meeting is to discuss the character, professional competence or physical or mental health of personnel, strategy sessions to discuss collective bargaining, discussions regarding security personnel, devices or systems, investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct, strategy sessions to discuss the purchase, exchange, lease or sale of real property.

A closed meeting has to be listed on the agenda.

“A closed session should be kept confidential,” said Wright. “Council members should not discuss publicly what went on there.”

In addition, council members should remember to be discreet because there are times when a court may decide to open the closed meeting actions.

A council may not approve any ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, contract or appointment, interview a person to fill an elected position, or take final action during a closed meeting.

Final votes must be open and on the record.

“If any robust debate is expected, then the meeting should be open,” said Wright.

A notice of a meeting should be posted as a written notice at the place where the meeting will be held and must be given to at least one local general circulation newspaper or local media correspondent.

The law does allow for emergency or urgent matters meetings if the best notice is given and the minutes include a statement of the unforeseen circumstances that made the meeting necessary.

Wright said that minutes of meetings both open and closed have to be kept and the council should approve written minutes each meeting.

“A member of a public body who intentionally violates or intentionally abets or advises a violation of the closed meeting provisions is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.”

Under OPMA, a court can void any action in violation of the law, said Wright.

“If we receive a bid or a response after the posted closing time for bidding or for the application,” said Bill Mills, Mona City mayor, “can it be refused? Can a new posting and application period be advertised?”

Wright said that the bidding or application time was over and so the mayor and council needed to re-advertise.

“Do I have to allow someone from the county who is not a Mona citizen the right to speak?” asked Mills.

“The mayor controls the meeting,” said Wright. “It is his call. He gets to set the agenda and control the meeting. It is his meeting.”

If the mayor does not want a person from the county speaking at a council meeting, he can refuse to let them do so.

Lyla Spencer, city recorder, said that those recognized and allowed to speak should come forward and announce their name and come to the microphone so that their comments could be recorded.

Wright said that was the proper thing to do because recording the meeting was part of the OPMA requirements and those recordings were important.

Common violations are closing meetings without members of the body voting first in an open meeting to close the meeting; conducting a closed meeting for reasons other than those allowed by OPMA; taking official or final action in a closed meeting; failing to properly provide notice of a public meeting; and failing to provide adequate notice of a public meeting.