[R.O. 1997 § 130.010; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004[1]]
It is the public policy of the City
of Wildwood that meetings, records, votes, actions and deliberations
of public governmental bodies be open to the public unless otherwise
provided by law. To that end, the City hereby adopts all applicable
provisions of Chapter 610, RSMo., as amended (hereinafter referred
to as the "Missouri Sunshine Law"), as the open meetings and records
policy of the City. This Chapter and the Missouri Sunshine Law shall
be liberally construed and the exceptions strictly construed to promote
this public policy. Except as otherwise provided by law, all public
meetings of City public governmental bodies shall be open to the public
as set forth in Section 610.020, RSMo., all public records of public
governmental bodies shall be open to the public for inspection and
copying as set forth in Sections 610.023 to 610.026, RSMo., and all
public votes of public governmental bodies shall be recorded as set
forth in Section 610.015, RSMo. A copy of the Missouri Sunshine Law
shall be kept available for public use, inspection and examination
at City Hall during normal business hours.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 130,
adopted 9-1-1995 by Ord. No. 8, as amended 9-1-1995 by Ord. No. 141
and 10-13-1997 by Ord. No. 379.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.020; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
A.
The City Clerk or his or her designee shall
be the custodian of records (referred to herein as the "custodian")
and will be responsible for maintenance and control of all records.
The custodian may designate deputy custodians in operating departments
of the City and such other departments or offices as the custodian
may determine. Deputy custodians shall conduct matters relating to
public records and meetings in accord with the policies enumerated
herein. All requests for access to public records must be made in
writing and addressed to the custodian of records. To maintain the
integrity of official records and compliance with the Missouri Sunshine
Law, only the custodian is authorized to receive and respond to requests
subject to Missouri Sunshine Law requests on behalf of the City.
B.
Each request for access to a public record
shall be acted upon as soon as possible, but in no event later than
the end of the third business day following the date the request is
received by the custodian of records of a public governmental body.
If records are requested in a certain format, the public body shall
provide the records in the requested format, if such format is available.
If access to the public record is not granted immediately, the custodian
shall give a detailed explanation of the cause for further delay and
the place and earliest time and date that the record will be available
for inspection. This period for document production may exceed three
(3) days for reasonable cause.
C.
If a request for access is denied, the
custodian shall provide, upon request, a written statement of the
grounds for such denial. Such statement shall cite the specific provision
of law under which access is denied and shall be furnished to the
requester no later than the end of the third business day following
the date that the request for the statement is received.
D.
It shall be unlawful for any person to
remove original public records from City Hall or other office of a
City public governmental body or the custodian without written permission
of the custodian.
E.
The City shall not grant to any person
or entity, whether by contract, license or otherwise, the exclusive
right to access and disseminate any public record unless the granting
of such right is necessary to facilitate coordination with, or uniformity
among, industry regulators having similar authority.
F.
Drafts, non-final versions of documents
and other work product shall not constitute a "public record" unless
as otherwise required by law. Nothing in this Chapter shall be deemed
to require retention of a document not otherwise required by law to
be retained.
G.
If a public record contains material which
is not exempt from disclosure as well as material which is exempt
from disclosure, the public governmental body shall separate the exempt
and non-exempt material and make the non-exempt material available
for examination and copying.
H.
The custodian may require all requests
for access to public records to be on a request for public records
form designed by the custodian which includes, but is not limited
to, such information as the date and time of the request, the name
and address of person making request (or other information as to where
person making request can be located), and the specific public record(s)
being requested.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.030; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
All meetings, records and votes are
open to the public, except that any meeting, record or vote relating
to one (1) or more of the matters set out in Section 610.021, RSMo.,
as amended, as well as other materials designated elsewhere in this
Chapter, shall be closed unless the public governmental body votes
to make them public. Before closing a meeting to the public, a majority
of a quorum of the governmental body shall vote to do so in a public
vote. The vote of each member of the governmental body on the question
of closing the meeting or vote and the reason for closing the meeting
by reference to a specific exception shall be announced at a public
meeting and entered into the minutes.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.040; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
In order to allow the fullest cooperation
by employees and members of the public in investigation of matters
wherein an employee of the City is alleged to have engaged in any
form of misconduct, all files, records and documents relating to investigations
of allegations of misconduct by City employees will be considered
to be personnel records and shall be closed records under the custody
of the respective department head.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.050; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
A.
All information obtained by the City regarding
medical examinations, medical condition or medical history of City
employees or job applicants, if retained by the City, shall be collected
and maintained on separate forms and in separate medical files and
shall be treated as closed and confidential records, except that:
1.
Supervisors and managers may be informed
regarding necessary restrictions on the work duties of employees and
necessary accommodations;
2.
First aid and safety personnel may
be informed, when appropriate, if the information reflects the existence
of a disability which might require emergency treatment; or
3.
Government officials investigating
compliance with State or Federal law pertaining to treatment of persons
with disabilities may be allowed access to such records.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.060; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
A.
In order to protect reasonable expectations
of privacy on the part of persons having dealings with the City, City
records containing information or entries of a personal, confidential,
private or proprietary nature, including, but not limited to, income,
sales data, financial circumstances, household and family relationships,
social security numbers, dates of birth, insurance information and
other information which reasonable persons generally regard as private
and not a customary subject for public discourse, which information
or entries have been provided to the City by one complying with regulations
requiring the disclosure of such information, shall be, to the extent
authorized by law, excised from copies of City records disclosed or
provided to members of the public other than those persons to whom
the information of entries pertain. Persons desiring access to information
or entries excised from such records may file a supplementary written
request with the City Clerk for disclosure of material to be specified
in the request, which request should state:
B.
In addition to any other remedies available
to the City provided by law, the City Clerk may afford all interested
parties a reasonable opportunity to seek judicial review of or relief
from the proposed disclosure. The City Clerk, with the approval of
the City Council, may also utilize the procedures for judicial determination
and/or opinion solicitation provided by law.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.070; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
A public governmental body or record
custodian in doubt about the legality of closing a particular meeting,
record or vote may, subject to approval by the City Council, bring
suit in the Circuit Court for the County of St. Louis to ascertain
the propriety of such action. In addition, subject to approval by
the City Council, the public governmental body or custodian may seek
a formal opinion of the Attorney General or an attorney for the City
regarding the propriety of such action. In such events, any proposed
closed meeting or public access to the record or vote shall be deferred
for a reasonable time pending the outcome of the actions so taken.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.080; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
A.
To the fullest extent permitted by law,
the custodian is authorized to impose fees for the City's cost of
document search, research and duplication in complying with records
requests. The maximum fees to be imposed by the custodian shall be
the maximum amount permitted by the Missouri Sunshine Law, not to
exceed the City's cost.
B.
The custodian may request and receive payment
prior to duplicating and/or searching for documents.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.090; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
A.
The City Council may provide for the legal
defense of any member of any City public governmental body charged
with a violation of the Missouri Sunshine Law.
B.
This Chapter, along with any supplemental
policies adopted by any City governmental body, shall be considered
the City of Wildwood Open Meetings and Records Policy in compliance
with the Missouri Sunshine Law. This Chapter and all other open meetings
and records policies of the City shall be open to public inspection.
C.
Any member of a City public governmental
body or any employee of the City who complies with the City of Wildwood
Open Meetings and Records Policy is not guilty of a violation of the
provisions of the Missouri Sunshine Law or this Chapter is subject
to civil liability for any act arising out of his/her adherence to
the City of Wildwood Open Meetings and Records Policy.
D.
No person who in good faith reports a violation
of the provisions of the Missouri Sunshine Law or this Chapter is
civilly liable for making such report, nor, if such person is an officer
or employee of a public governmental body, may such person be demoted,
fired, suspended or otherwise disciplined for making such report.
[R.O. 1997 § 130.100; Ord. No. 1102 § 1, 8-9-2004]
A.
No person shall be entitled access to any
closed record except as permitted by this Section or as may be required
by order of a court of competent jurisdiction. All closed records
shall be subject to inspection and access by the Mayor, City Council,
City Administrator, City Clerk and City Attorney subject to the following
qualifications:
1.
Lawfully closed records pertaining
to the performance or conduct of any of the above-listed individuals
shall be further closed to such individuals if the document identifies
the individual and the statutory basis for closure on its cover;
3.
No such person who has declared a
conflict of interest preventing that official from acting on the matter
shall be entitled to access the closed record where the record contains
information that would create a conflict of interest or an apparent
conflict of interest;
4.
Records otherwise specifically prohibited
from disclosure by law shall be disclosed only as permitted by such
law;
5.
Access to a specific document(s)
may be established other than as provided in this Section by an order
supported by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members
of the City Council.
[Res. No. 2022-31, 12-12-2022]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to City
Administration on responding to requests for public records made by
members of the City Council consistent with the provisions of the
City Charter and City Code.
B.
Definitions. Unless otherwise indicated, all terms used herein shall
have the same meaning as set forth in the City Code or Section 610.010,
RSMo.
C.
Records Requests By Council Members. Except as expressly set forth herein, requests for public records made by a member of the City Council shall be responded to consistent with the policy for open meetings and records set forth in Chapter 130 of the City Code and Chapter 610, RSMo.
D.
Waiver Of Fees. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (C) of this policy to the contrary, records may be provided to members of the City Council, without fee, as set forth herein:
1.
Requests for records without fee shall be submitted to the City
Clerk, in writing, and shall contain, the following:
2.
The City Clerk shall provide the public records sought without
fee if the City Clerk determines that:
a.
The public records sought have not been previously made available
to the City Council and are not publicly available in the City Code
or on the City's website;
b.
The public records sought are likely to contribute significantly
to the City Council's, or Standing Committee thereof, understanding
or analysis of the agenda item referenced in the request;
c.
Responding to the request for public records without fee will
not be unduly burdensome upon City administrative personnel and resources,
taking into consideration the scope of the request, the cost to the
City to provide the records, the time it will take the City administrative
personnel to respond to the request, the number of records responsive
to the request, and the timeliness of the request in relation to the
date upon which the agenda item will be considered; and
3.
Should the City Clerk determine that the request for public
records without fee should be fulfilled, consistent with this policy,
the written request and copies of all records provided in response
to the request shall be made available to the Mayor and each member
of the City Council.
4.
Should the City Clerk be in doubt as to the appropriateness
of providing public records without fee, pursuant to this policy,
the City Clerk shall notify the Council Member, in writing, of the
City Clerk's doubts as to the appropriateness of providing public
records without fee, pursuant to this policy.
a.
By way of example, records that are inappropriate to provide
without fee include, but are not limited to, the following:
5.
Upon receipt of such notification, the Council Member may respond by withdrawing the request or asking that the request by submitted to the Custodian of Records for a response consistent with the provisions of Chapter 130 of the City Code.
6.
Should the Council Member fail to respond to the notification
from the City Clerk within seven (7) days from the date of the notification
or refuse to withdraw the request for public records without fee,
the City Clerk shall forward the request to the Mayor and ask that
the request for public records without fee be placed on an agenda
of a regular meeting of the City Council for consideration and action
by the City Council. The City Council may approve a request for public
records without fee upon an affirmative vote of a simple majority
of the Council Members, exclusive of the Council Member that made
the request who shall not vote.
a.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Council Member may withdraw
their request for public records without fee at any time prior to
posting notice of the regular meeting of the City Council pursuant
to the requirements of Section 610.020, RSMo.
