As used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates,
the following terms mean:
COPYING
If requested by a member of the public, copies provided as detailed in Section
120.100 of this Chapter, if duplication equipment is available.
PUBLIC BUSINESS
All matters which relate in any way to performance of the
City's functions or the conduct of its business.
PUBLIC GOVERNMENTAL BODY
Any legislative, administrative or governmental entity created
by the Constitution or Statutes of this State, orders or ordinances
of the City, judicial entities when operating in an administrative
capacity or by executive order, including:
1.
Any advisory committee or commission appointed by the Mayor
or Board of Aldermen.
2.
Any department or division of the City.
3.
Any other legislative or administrative governmental deliberative
body under the direction of three (3) or more elected or appointed
members having rulemaking or quasi-judicial power.
4.
Any committee appointed by or at the direction of any of the
entities and which is authorized to report to any of the above-named
entities, any advisory committee appointed by or at the direction
of any of the named entities for the specific purpose of recommending,
directly to the public governmental body's governing board or its
Chief Administrative Officer, policy or policy revisions or expenditures
of public funds.
5.
Any quasi-public governmental body. The term "quasi-public
governmental body" means any person, corporation or partnership
organized or authorized to do business in this State pursuant to the
provisions of Chapters 352, 353 or 355, RSMo., or unincorporated association
which either:
a.
Has as its primary purpose to enter into contracts with public
governmental bodies or to engage primarily in activities carried out
pursuant to an agreement or agreements with public governmental bodies;
or
b.
Performs a public function, as evidenced by a statutorily or
ordinance-based capacity, to confer or otherwise advance, through
approval, recommendation or other means, the allocation or issuance
of tax credits, tax abatement, public debt, tax exempt debt, rights
of eminent domain, or the contracting of lease-back agreements on
structures whose annualized payments commit public tax revenues; or
any association that directly accepts the appropriation of money from
the City, but only to the extent that a meeting, record or vote relates
to such appropriation.
PUBLIC MEETING
Any meeting of a public governmental body subject to this
Chapter at which any public business is discussed, decided or public
policy formulated, whether such meeting is conducted in person or
by means of communication equipment including, but not limited to,
conference call, video conference, Internet chat or Internet message
board. The term "public meeting" shall not include
an informal gathering of members of a public governmental body for
ministerial or social purposes when there is no intent to avoid the
purposes of this Chapter, but the term shall include a vote of all
or a majority of the members of a public governmental body, by electronic
communication or any other means, conducted in lieu of holding a public
meeting with the members of the public governmental body gathered
at one (1) location in order to conduct public business.
PUBLIC RECORD
Any record, whether written or electronically stored, retained
by or of any public governmental body including any report, survey,
memorandum, or other document or study prepared for the public governmental
body by a consultant or other professional service paid for in whole
or in part by public funds, including records created or maintained
by private contractors under an agreement with a public governmental
body or on behalf of a public governmental body. The term "public record" shall not include any internal memorandum
or letter received or prepared by or on behalf of a member of a public
governmental body consisting of advice, opinions and recommendations
in connection with the deliberative decision-making process of said
body, unless such records are retained by the public governmental
body or presented at a public meeting. Any documents or study prepared
for a public governmental body by a consultant or other professional
service as described in this subdivision shall be retained by the
public governmental body in the same manner as any other public record.
PUBLIC VOTE
Any vote, whether conducted in person, by telephone, or by
any other electronic means, cast at any public meeting of any public
governmental body.
[Ord. No. 1712, 2-20-2024]
A. Except
to the extent disclosure is otherwise required by law, the City is
authorized to close all meetings, records and votes, to the extent
they relate to the following:
1. Legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public
governmental body and any confidential or privileged communications
between a public governmental body or its representatives and its
attorneys. However, any minutes, vote or settlement agreement relating
to legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public
governmental body or any agent or entity representing its interests
or acting on its behalf or with its authority, including any insurance
company acting on behalf of a public governmental body as its insured,
shall be made public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon
or upon the signing by the parties of the settlement agreement, unless,
prior to final disposition, the settlement agreement is ordered closed
by a court after a written finding that the adverse impact to a plaintiff
or plaintiffs to the action clearly outweighs the public policy considerations
of Section 610.011, RSMo., however, the amount of any monies paid
by, or on behalf of the public governmental body shall be disclosed;
provided, however, in matters involving the exercise of the power
of eminent domain, the vote shall be announced or become public immediately
following the action on the motion to authorize institution of such
a legal action. Legal work product shall be considered a closed record.
2. Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental
body where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect
the legal consideration therefor. However, any minutes or vote or
public record approving a contract relating to the leasing, purchase
or sale of real estate by a public governmental body shall be made
public upon execution of the lease, purchase or sale of the real estate.
3. Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees
by a public governmental body when personal information about the
employee is discussed or recorded. However, any vote on a final decision,
when taken by a public governmental body, to hire, fire, promote or
discipline an employee of a public governmental body shall be made
available with a record of how each member voted to the public within
seventy-two (72) hours of the close of the meeting where such action
occurs; provided, however, that any employee so affected shall be
entitled to prompt notice of such decision during the seventy-two
(72) hour period before such decision is made available to the public.
As used in this Subsection, the term "personal information" means information relating to the performance or merit of individual
employees.
4. Non-judicial mental or physical health proceedings involving an identifiable
person, including medical, psychiatric, psychological, or alcoholism
or drug dependency diagnosis or treatment.
5. Testing and examination materials, before the test or examination
is given or, if it is to be given again, before so given again.
6. Welfare cases of identifiable individuals.
7. Preparation, including any discussions or work product, on behalf
of a public governmental body or its representatives for negotiations
with employee groups.
8. Software codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof.
9. Specifications for competitive bidding, until either the specifications
are officially approved by the public governmental body or the specifications
are published for bid.
10. Sealed bids and related documents, until the bids are opened; and
sealed proposals and related documents or any documents related to
a negotiated contract until a contract is executed, or all proposals
are rejected.
11. Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings
or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment, except
that this exemption shall not apply to the names, positions, salaries
and lengths of service of officers and employees of public agencies
once they are employed as such.
12. Records which are protected from disclosure by law.
13. Meetings and public records relating to scientific and technological
innovations in which the owner has a proprietary interest.
14. Records relating to municipal hotlines established for the reporting
of abuse and wrongdoing.
15. Confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental
body and its auditor, including all auditor work product; however,
all final audit reports issued by the auditor are to be considered
open records pursuant to this Chapter.
16. Security And Safety.
a. Security measures, global positioning system (GPS) data, investigative
information, or investigative or surveillance techniques of any public
agency responsible for law enforcement or public safety that, if disclosed,
has the potential to endanger the health or safety of an individual
or the public.
b. Any information or data provided to a tip line for the purpose of
safety or security at an educational institution that, if disclosed,
has the potential to endanger the health or safety of an individual
or the public.
c. Any information contained in any suspicious activity report provided
to law enforcement that, if disclosed, has the potential to endanger
the health or safety of an individual or the public.
d. Operational guidelines, policies and specific response plans developed,
adopted, or maintained by any public agency responsible for law enforcement,
public safety, first response, or public health for use in responding
to or preventing any critical incident which has the potential to
endanger individual or public safety or health. Financial records
related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to operational
guidelines, policies or plans purchased with public funds shall be
open. When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception,
the public governmental body shall affirmatively state, in writing,
that disclosure would impair the public governmental body's ability
to protect the security or safety of persons or real property, and
shall in the same writing state that the public interest in non-disclosure
outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records.
17. Existing or proposed security systems and structural plans of real
property owned or leased by a public governmental body, and information
that is voluntarily submitted by a non-public entity owning or operating
an infrastructure to any public governmental body for use by that
body to devise plans for protection of that infrastructure, the public
disclosure of which would threaten public safety.
a. Records related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to
security systems purchased with public funds shall be open.
b. When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception, the
public governmental body shall affirmatively state, in writing, that
disclosure would impair the public governmental body's ability to
protect the security or safety of persons or real property and shall
in the same writing state that the public interest in non-disclosure
outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records.
c. Records that are voluntarily submitted by a non-public entity shall
be reviewed by the receiving agency within ninety (90) days of submission
to determine if retention of the document is necessary in furtherance
of a State security interest. If retention is not necessary, the documents
shall be returned to the non-public governmental body or destroyed.
18. The portion of a record that identifies security systems or access
codes or authorization codes for security systems of real property.
19. Records that identify the configuration of components or the operation
of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network and would allow unauthorized access to or unlawful disruption
of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network of a public governmental body. This exception shall not be
used to limit or deny access to otherwise public records in a file,
document, data file or database containing public records. Records
related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to such computer,
computer system, computer network or telecommunications network, including
the amount of monies paid by, or on behalf of, a public governmental
body for such computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network, shall be open.
20. Credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, digital certificates,
physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization codes that
are used to protect the security of electronic transactions between
a public governmental body and a person or entity doing business with
a public governmental body. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed
to close the record of a person or entity using a credit card held
in the name of a public governmental body or any record of a transaction
made by a person using a credit card or other method of payment for
which reimbursement is made by a public governmental body.
Any member of a public governmental body who transmits any message
relating to public business by electronic means shall also concurrently
transmit that message to either the member's public office computer
or the custodian of records in the same format. The provisions of
this Section shall only apply to messages sent to two (2) or more
members of that body so that, when counting the sender, a majority
of the body's members are copied. Any such message received by the
custodian or at the member's office computer shall be a public record
subject to the exception of Section 610.021, RSMo.
For any public meeting where a vote of the Board of Aldermen
is required to implement a tax increase, or with respect to a retail
development project when the Board of Aldermen votes to utilize the
power of eminent domain, create a transportation development district
or a community improvement district, or approve a redevelopment plan
that pledges public funds as financing for the project or plan, the
Board of Aldermen, or any entity created by the City, shall give notice
conforming with all the requirements of Subsection (1) of Section
610.020, RSMo., at least four (4) days before such entity may vote
on such issues, exclusive of weekends and holidays when the facility
is closed; provided that this Section shall not apply to any votes
or discussion related to proposed ordinances which require a minimum
of two (2) separate readings on different days for their passage.
The provisions of Subsection (4) of Section 610.020, RSMo., shall
not apply to any matters that are subject to the provisions of this
Section. No vote shall occur until after a public meeting on the matter
at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity
to be heard. If the notice required under this Section is not properly
given, no vote on such issues shall be held until proper notice has
been provided under this Section. Any legal action challenging the
notice requirements provided herein shall be filed within thirty (30)
days of the subject meeting, or such meeting shall be deemed to have
been properly noticed and held. For the purpose of this Section, a
tax increase shall not include the setting of the annual tax rates
provided for under Sections 67.110 and 137.055, RSMo.
If a public record contains material which is not exempt from
disclosure, as well as material which is exempt from disclosure, the
custodian shall separate the exempt and non-exempt material and make
the non-exempt material available for examination and copying in accord
with the policies provided herein. When designing a public record
the custodian shall, to the extent practicable, facilitate a separation
of exempt from non-exempt information. If the separation is readily
apparent to a person requesting to inspect or receive copies of the
form, the custodian shall generally describe the material exempted
unless that description would reveal the contents of the exempt information
and thus defeat the purpose of the exemption.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the
following definitions:
ARREST
An actual restraint of the person of the defendant, or by
his/her submission to the custody of the officer, under authority
of a warrant or otherwise for a criminal violation which results in
the issuance of a summons or the person being booked.
ARREST REPORT
A record of a law enforcement agency of an arrest and of
any detention or confinement incident thereto together with the charge
therefor.
INACTIVE
An investigation in which no further action will be taken
by a law enforcement agency or officer for any of the following reasons:
1.
A decision by the law enforcement agency not to pursue the case.
2.
Expiration of the time to file criminal charges pursuant to
the applicable statute of limitations or ten (10) years after the
commission of the offense, whichever date earliest occurs.
3.
Finality of the convictions of all persons convicted on the
basis of the information contained in the investigative report, by
exhaustion of or expiration of all rights of appeal of such persons.
INCIDENT REPORT
A record of a law enforcement agency consisting of the date,
time, specific location, name of the victim, and immediate facts and
circumstances surrounding the initial report of a crime or incident,
including any logs of reported crimes, accidents and complaints maintained
by that agency.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
A record, other than an arrest or incident report, prepared
by personnel of a law enforcement agency inquiring into a crime or
suspected crime either in response to an incident report or in response
to evidence developed by Law Enforcement Officers in the course of
their duties.
MOBILE VIDEO RECORDER
Any system or device that captures visual signals that is
capable of being installed in a vehicle or being worn or carried by
personnel of a law enforcement agency and that includes, at minimum,
a camera and recording capabilities.
[Ord. No. 1575 § 1, 9-20-2016]
MOBILE VIDEO RECORDING
Any data captured by a mobile video recorder, including audio,
video, and any metadata.
[Ord. No. 1575 § 1, 9-20-2016]
NON-PUBLIC LOCATION
A place where one would have a reasonable expectation of
privacy, including, but not limited to, a dwelling, school, or medical
facility.
[Ord. No. 1575 § 1, 9-20-2016]
[Ord. No. 1575 § 2, 9-20-2016]
A. The Police Department of the City shall maintain records of all incidents
reported to the Police Department and investigations and arrests made
by the Police Department. All incident reports and arrest reports
shall be open records.
1.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law other than the provisions of Subsections
(C),
(D), and
(E) of this Section or Section 320.083, RSMo., mobile video recordings and investigative reports of the Police Department are closed records until the investigation becomes inactive.
2.
If any person is arrested and not charged with an offense against the law within thirty (30) days of the person's arrest, the arrest report shall thereafter be a closed record except that the disposition portion of the record may be accessed and except as provided in Section
120.140.
3.
Except as provided in Subsections
(B) and
(D) of this Section, a mobile video recording that is recorded in a non-public location is closed, except that any person who is depicted in the recording or whose voice is in the recording, a legal guardian or parent of such person if he or she is a minor, a family member of such person within the first degree of consanguinity if he or she is deceased or incompetent, an attorney for such person, or insurer of such person may obtain a complete, unaltered, and unedited copy of a recording under this Section upon written request, which shall include sufficient verification of the requestors' relationship to the person appearing in the video if made by one other than the person appearing in the recording.
B. Except as provided in Subsections
(C),
(D),
(E), and
(F) of this Section, if any portion of a record or document of a Police Department Officer or the Police Department, other than an arrest report which would otherwise be open, contains information that is reasonably likely to pose a clear and present danger to the safety of any victim, witness, undercover officer or other person; or jeopardize a criminal investigation, including records which would disclose the identity of a source wishing to remain confidential or a suspect not in custody; or which would disclose techniques, procedures or guidelines for Police Department investigations or prosecutions, that portion of the record shall be closed and shall be redacted from any record made available pursuant to this Chapter.
C. Any person, including a legal guardian or a parent of such person if he/she is a minor, a family member of such person within the first degree of consanguinity of such person if deceased or incompetent, attorney for a person, or insurer of a person involved in any incident or whose property is involved in an incident may obtain any records closed pursuant to this Section or Section
120.140 for purposes of investigation of any civil claim or defense as provided by this Subsection. Any individual, legal guardian or parent of such person if he/she is a minor, his/her attorney or insurer involved in an incident or whose property is involved in an incident, upon written request and proper verification of relationship, may obtain a complete unaltered and unedited incident report concerning the incident and may obtain access to other records closed by the Police Department pursuant to this Section. Within thirty (30) days of such request, the Police Department shall provide the requested material or file a motion pursuant to this Subsection with the Circuit Court for St. Louis County (the "Circuit Court") stating that the safety of the victim, witness or other individual cannot be reasonably ensured, or that a criminal investigation is likely to be jeopardized. Pursuant to Section 610.100.4, RSMo., if, based on such motion, the court finds for the Police Department, the court shall either order the record closed or order such portion of the record that should be closed to be redacted from any record made available pursuant to this Subsection.
D. Pursuant to Section 610.100.5, RSMo., any person may bring an action
in the Circuit Court to authorize disclosure of a mobile video recording
or the information contained in an investigative report of the Police
Department, which would otherwise be closed pursuant to this Section.
E. Pursuant to Section 610.100.6, RSMo., any person may apply to the
Circuit Court for an order requiring a Law Enforcement Agency to open
incident reports and arrest reports being unlawfully closed pursuant
to the Section.
F. The victim of an offense as provided in Chapter 566, RSMo., may request
that his/her identity be kept confidential until a charge relating
to such incident is filed.
G. Any person who requests and receives a mobile video recording that
was recorded in a non-public location under this Section is prohibited
from displaying or disclosing the mobile video recording, including
any description or account of any or all of the mobile video recording,
without first providing direct third-party notice to each person not
affiliated with the Police Department whose image or sound is contained
in the recording. Upon receiving such notice, each person appearing
in a mobile video recording shall be given ten (10) days to file and
serve an action seeking an order from a court of competent jurisdiction
to enjoin all or some of the intended display, disclosure, description,
or account of the recording. Any person who fails to comply with the
provisions of this Section shall be subject to damages in a civil
action proceeding.
Except as provided by this Section, any information acquired by the Police Department or a first responder agency by way of a complaint or report of a crime made by telephone contact using the emergency number "911" shall be inaccessible to the general public. However, information consisting of the date, time, specific location, and immediate facts and circumstances surrounding the initial report of the crime or incident shall be considered to be an incident report and subject to Section
120.120. Any closed records pursuant to this Section shall be available upon request by law enforcement agencies or the Division of Workers' Compensation or pursuant to a valid court order authorizing disclosure upon motion and good cause shown.
[Ord. No. 1575 § 3, 9-20-2016]
A. Crime scene photographs and video recordings, including photographs
and video recordings created or produced by the Police Department,
a state or local agency or by a perpetrator or suspect at a crime
scene, which depict or describe a deceased person in a state of dismemberment,
decapitation, or similar mutilation, including, without limitation,
where the deceased person's genitalia are exposed, shall be closed
records and shall not be subject to disclosure under the provisions
of this Chapter or Chapter 610, RSMo.; provided, however, that this
Section shall not prohibit disclosure of such material to the deceased
person's next of kin or to an individual who has secured a written
release from the next of kin. It shall be the responsibility of the
next of kin to show sufficient proof of the familial relationship.
For purposes of such access, the deceased person's next of kin shall
be:
1.
The spouse of the deceased person, if living;
2.
If there is no living spouse of the deceased, an adult child
of the deceased person; or
3.
If there is no living spouse or adult child, a parent of the
deceased person.
B. Subject to the provisions of Subsection
(C) of this Section, in the case of closed criminal investigations a Circuit Court Judge may order the disclosure of such photographs or video recordings upon findings in writing that disclosure is in the public interest and outweighs any privacy interest that may be asserted by the deceased person's next of kin. In making such determination, the court shall consider whether such disclosure is necessary for public evaluation of governmental performance, the seriousness of the intrusion into the family's right to privacy, and whether such disclosure is the least intrusive means available considering the availability of similar information in other public records. In any such action, the court shall review the photographs or video recordings in question in camera with the custodian of the crime scene materials present and may condition any disclosure on such condition as the court may deem necessary to accommodate the interests of the parties.
C. Prior to releasing any crime scene material described in Subsection
(A) of this Section, the court should order that the Police Department's custodian of such material shall give the deceased person's next of kin at least two (2) weeks' notice. No court shall order a disclosure under Subsection
(B) of this Section which would disregard or shorten the duration of such notice requirement.
D. The provisions of this Section shall apply to all undisclosed material
which is in the custody of a State or local agency on the effective
date of this Section and to any such material which comes into the
custody of a State or local agency after such date.
E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to disclosure of crime
scene material to counsel representing a convicted defendant in a
habeas corpus action, on a motion for new trial, or in a Federal habeas
corpus action under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 or 2255 for the purpose
of preparing to file or litigating such proceedings. Counsel may disclose
such materials to his or her client and any expert or investigator
assisting counsel but shall not otherwise disseminate such materials,
except to the extent they may be necessary exhibits in court proceedings.
A request under this Subsection shall clearly state that such request
is being made for the purpose of preparing to file and litigate proceedings
enumerated in this Subsection.
F. Viewing shall be subject to any rules and regulations that the Director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety shall promulgate governing the viewing of materials described in Subsection
(A) of this Section by bona fide credentialed members of the press.