As used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates,
the following terms mean:
Any meeting, record or vote closed to the public.
If requested by a member of the public, copies provided as detailed in Section 145.100 of this Chapter, if duplication equipment is available.
All matters which relate in any way to performance of the
City's functions or the conduct of its business.
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:
Any advisory committee or commission appointed by the Mayor
or City Council.
Any department or division of the City.
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.
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.
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:
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
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.
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.
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.
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. 13-2009 §1, 11-9-2009]
A.
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 following
matters, as well as other materials designated elsewhere in this Chapter,
shall be closed unless the public governmental body votes to make
them public:
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.
The following information, which has the potential to endanger the
health or safety of an individual or the public if disclosed:
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.
17.
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.
18.
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.
19.
The portion of a record that identifies security systems or access
codes or authorization codes for security systems of real property.
20.
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.
21.
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.
22.
All records of particular employees of the City used when hiring,
firing, disciplining or promoting of the particular employee where
personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded,
or when there is a discussion or decision as to whether to hire, fire,
promote or discipline any employee and all personal information relating
to the performance or merits of the individual employee are by the
adoption of the ordinance closed pursuant to Missouri Sunshine Law
Chapter 610, RSMo.
23.
Individually identifiable customer usage and billing records
for customers of a municipally owned utility, unless the records are
requested by the customer or authorized for release by the customer,
except that a municipally owned utility shall make available to the
public the customer's name, billing address, location of service,
and dates of service provided for any commercial service account.
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.
A.
All
public governmental bodies shall give notice of the time, date and
place of each meeting and its tentative agenda in a manner reasonably
calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered, and
if the meeting will be conducted by telephone or other electronic
means, the notice of the meeting shall identify the mode by which
the meeting will be conducted and the designated location where the
public may observe and attend the meeting. If a public body plans
to meet by Internet chat, Internet message board or other computer
link, it shall post a notice of the meeting on its website in addition
to its principal office and shall notify the public how to access
that meeting. Reasonable notice shall include making available copies
of the notice to any representative of the news media who requests
notice of meetings of a particular public governmental body concurrent
with the notice being made available to the members of the particular
governmental body and posting the notice on a bulletin board or other
prominent place which is easily accessible to the public and clearly
designated for that purpose at the principal office of the body holding
the meeting, or if no such office exists, at the building in which
the meeting is to be held.
B.
Notice conforming with all of the requirements of Subsection (A) of this Section shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays when City Hall is closed, prior to the commencement of any meeting of a governmental body unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical, in which case as much notice as is reasonably possible shall be given.
C.
The City shall allow for the recording by audiotape, videotape or other electronic means of any open meeting. The City may establish guidelines regarding the manner in which such recording is conducted so as to minimize disruption to the meeting. No audio recording of any meeting, record or vote closed pursuant to the provisions of Section 145.020 shall be permitted without permission of the City; any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of an ordinance violation.
D.
Each governmental body proposing to hold a closed meeting or vote shall give notice of the time, date and place of such closed meeting or vote and the reason for holding it by reference to a specific exception allowed pursuant to Section 145.020 hereof. The notice shall be the same as described in Subsection (A) herein.
E.
A formally
constituted subunit of a parent governmental body may conduct a meeting
without notice during a lawful meeting of the parent governmental
body, a recess in that meeting, or immediately following that meeting
if the meeting of the subunit is publicly announced at the parent
meeting and the subject of the meeting reasonably coincides with the
subjects discussed or acted upon by the parent governmental body.
For any public meeting where a vote of the City Council is required
to implement a tax increase, or with respect to a retail development
project when the City Council 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 City Council,
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.
A.
Except as set forth in Subsection (D) of Section 145.040, no meeting or vote may be closed without an affirmative public vote of the majority of a quorum of the public governmental body. The vote of each member of the governmental body on the question of closing a public meeting or vote and the specific reason for closing that public meeting or vote by reference to a specific Section of this Chapter shall be announced publicly at an open meeting of the governmental body and entered into the minutes.
B.
Any meeting or vote closed pursuant to Section 145.020 shall be closed only to the extent necessary for the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting or vote. Public governmental bodies shall not discuss any business in a closed meeting, record or vote which does not directly relate to the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting or vote. Public governmental bodies holding a closed meeting shall close only an existing portion of the meeting facility necessary to house the members of the public governmental body in the closed session, allowing members of the public to remain to attend any subsequent open session held by the public governmental body following the closed session.
A.
Except as provided in Section 145.020, rules authorized pursuant to Article III of the Missouri Constitution and as otherwise provided by law, all votes shall be recorded, and if a roll call is taken, as to attribute each "yea" and "nay" vote, or abstinence if not voting, to the name of the individual member of the public governmental body. Any votes taken during a closed meeting shall be taken by roll call. All public meetings shall be open to the public and public votes and public records shall be open to the public for inspection and duplication. All votes taken by roll call in meetings of a public governmental body consisting of members who are all elected, shall be cast by members of the public governmental body who are physically present and in attendance at the meeting or who are participating via video-conferencing. When it is necessary to take votes by roll call in a meeting of the public governmental body, due to an emergency of the public body, with a quorum of the members of the public body physically present and in attendance and less than a quorum of the members of the public governmental body participating via telephone, facsimile, Internet, or any other voice or electronic means, the nature of the emergency of the public body justifying that departure from the normal requirements shall be stated in the minutes. Where such emergency exists, the votes taken shall be regarded as if all members were physically present and in attendance at the meeting.
B.
A journal
or minutes of open and closed meetings shall be taken and retained
by the public governmental body including, but not limited to, a record
of any vote taken at such meeting. The minutes shall include the date,
time, place, members present, members absent, and a record of votes
taken. When a roll call vote is taken, the minutes shall attribute
each "yea" and "nay" vote, or abstinence if not voting, to the name
of the individual member of the public governmental body.
[Ord. No. 14-2014 §1, 9-8-2014]
A.
Policy Statement. While it is legally permissible
for members of the City's public government bodies to attend meetings
and vote via video conference transmission, a member's use of video
conference attendance should occur only sparingly. Because it is good
public policy for citizens to have the opportunity to meet with their
elected officials face-to-face, elected members of the public governmental
body should endeavor to be physically present at all meetings unless
attendance is unavoidable after exercising due diligence to arrange
for physical presence at the meeting. The primary purpose of attendance
by video conference connection should be to accommodate the public
governmental body as a whole to allow meetings to occur when circumstances
would otherwise prevent the physical attendance of a quorum of the
body's members. A secondary purpose of attendance by video conference
should be to ensure that all members may participate in business of
the public governmental body that is an emergency or highly important
in nature and arose quickly so as to make attendance at a regular
meeting practically impossible. Except in emergency situations, all
efforts should be expended to ensure that a quorum of the members
of the public governmental body be physical present at the normal
meeting place of the body.
B.
"Video Conference" Defined. For purposes of this
section "video conference" or "videoconferencing" shall refer to a
means of communication where at least one (1) member of a public government
body participates in the public meeting via an electronic connection
made up of three (3) components: 1) a live video transmission of the
member of the public government body not in physical attendance; 2)
a live audio transmission allowing the member of the public governmental
body not in physical attendance to be heard by those in physical attendance;
and 3) a live audio transmission allowing the member of the public
governmental body not in physical attendance to hear those in physical
attendance at a meeting. If at any time during a meeting one (1) or
more of the elements of a video conference becomes compromised (e.g.,
if any participants are unable to see, hear, or fully communicate),
then the video conference participant is deemed immediately absent,
and this absence should be reflected in the minutes. A video conference
participant's absence may compromise a quorum, in which case the applicable
Missouri laws shall take effect regarding a broken quorum.
C.
Frequency Of Use Of Video Conference Attendance. A member of a public governmental body shall not attend more than three (3) meetings via video conference in a rolling twelve-month period. In keeping with the policy stated in Subsection (A) above, attendance via video conference should only occur sparingly and for good cause. Such good cause shall be at the discretion of the member seeking to attend by video conference, but shall be for significant reasons such as serious illness or injury of the member or a member of his or her immediate family, including father or mother, spouse, sibling, child, or grandchild.
D.
Physical Location. Members of the public may not
participate in a public meeting of a governmental body via video conference.
The public wishing to attend a meeting, and elected officials not
participating via videoconferencing of a meeting, shall participate
at the physical location where meetings of the public governmental
body are typically held, or as provided in a notice in accordance
with the Sunshine Law.[1] The public governmental body shall cause there to be provided
at the physical location communication equipment consisting of an
audio and visual display, and a camera and microphone so that the
member(s) of the public governmental body participating via videoconferencing,
the members of the public governmental body in physical attendance,
and the public in physical attendance may actively participate in
the meeting in accordance with the rules of meeting decorum. The communication
equipment at the physical location of the meeting must allow for all
meeting attendees to see, hear, and fully communicate with the videoconferencing
participant.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Chapter 610, RSMo.
E.
Voting. Elected members of a public governmental body attending a public meeting of the governmental body via video conference are deemed present for purposes of participating in a roll call vote to the same effect elected members of a public government body in physical attendance at a public meeting of the governmental body are deemed present. As indicated in Subsection (B) above, if any component of the video conference communication fails during the meeting, the member attending the meeting by video conference whose connection failed shall be deemed absent immediately upon such failure, and if the public governmental body was in the act of voting, the voting shall stop until all of the components of video conference attendance are again restored and the video conference participant's presence is again noted in the minutes.
F.
Closed Meetings. In a meeting where a member of
the public governmental body is participating via videoconferencing
and the meeting goes into a closed session, all provisions of Missouri
law and City ordinances relating to closed sessions apply. Upon the
public governmental body's vote to close the meeting, all members
of the general public shall not be present. Likewise, a member of
a public governmental body participating via videoconferencing must
ensure there are no members of the public present at their location
to see, hear, or otherwise communicate during the closed session.
The member must also take all reasonable precautions to guard against
interception of communication by others. Failure to ensure the requirements
of this Subsection may result in corrective action by the full public
governmental body in accordance with City regulations.
G.
Minutes. In the meeting, whether in open or in closed
session, the minutes taken should reflect the member, if any, participating
via video conference; the members in physical attendance; and members,
if any, absent.
H.
Emergency Meetings. In the event that emergency
circumstances created impossibility for the members of a public governmental
body to physically attend, the body as a whole may meet and, if necessary,
vote by video conference. Examples of such emergency circumstances
include, but are not limited to, war, riot, terrorism, widespread
fire, epidemic or pandemic disease conditions, or natural disaster
such as earthquake, tornado, hurricane, flood, or blizzard. To the
extent possible in such circumstance, the public governmental body
shall use reasonable efforts to cause a physical location to be provided
for public attendance and participation. However, any meetings that
are held by video conferencing for general emergency reasons shall
not count against the twelve-month rolling maximum of three (3) remote
appearances allowed under Sub section C.
[Ord. No. 26-2021, 9-27-2021]
[Ord. No. 14-2014 §2, 9-8-2014]
A.
Public Statement. While it is legally permissible
for members of the City's public governmental body to attend meetings
via telephone, a member's use of telephone attendance should occur
sparingly. Because it is good public policy for citizens to have the
opportunity to meet with their elected officials face-to-face, elected
members of the public governmental body should endeavor to be physically
present at all meetings unless attendance is unavoidable after exercising
due diligence to arrange for physical presence at the meeting. The
primary purpose of attendance by telephone connection should be to
accommodate the public governmental body as a whole to allow meetings
to occur when circumstances would otherwise prevent the physical attendance
of a quorum of the body's members. A secondary purpose of attendance
by telephone should be to ensure that all members may participate
in business of the public governmental body that is an emergency or
highly important in nature and arose quickly so as to make attendance
at a regular meeting practically impossible. Except in emergency situations,
all efforts should be expended to ensure that a quorum of the members
of the public governmental body be physical present at the normal
meeting place of the body.
B.
"Telephone" Defined. For purposes of this section
"telephone" shall refer to a means of communication where at least
one (1) member of the public government body participates in the public
meeting via telephone connection. This participant must be on speaker
to insure that all members of the public government body be heard
by the member not in physical attendance. If at any time during a
meeting the party becomes disconnected, the participant is deemed
immediately absent, and this absence should be reflected in the minutes.
The telephone participant's absence may compromise a quorum, in which
case the applicable Missouri laws shall take effect regarding a broken
quorum.
E.
Voting. Elected members of a public governmental
body attending a public meeting of that governmental body via telephone
are deemed present for the purpose of a quorum. Those attending via
telephone will not be allowed to participate in a roll call vote,
except to open or close a meeting.
A.
Each
meeting shall be held at a place reasonably accessible to the public
and of sufficient size to accommodate the anticipated attendance by
members of the public and at a time reasonably convenient to the public
unless for good cause such a place or time is impossible or impractical.
Every reasonable effort shall be made to grant special access to the
meeting to handicapped or disabled individuals.
B.
When
it is necessary to hold a meeting on less than twenty-four (24) hours'
notice, or at a place that is not reasonably accessible to the public,
or at a time that is not reasonably convenient to the public, the
nature of the good cause justifying that departure from the normal
requirements shall be stated in the minutes.
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.
A.
The
City Clerk shall be the custodian of records 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.
B.
Each
public governmental body shall make available for inspection and copying
by the public of that body's public records. No person shall remove
original public records from the office of a public governmental body
or its custodian without written permission of the designated custodian.
No public governmental body shall, after August 28, 1998, 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.
C.
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 (3rd)
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.
D.
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 (3rd) business day following the date that the request
for the statement is received.
A.
Except
as otherwise provided by law, each public governmental body shall
provide access to and, upon request, furnish copies of public records
subject to the following:
1.
Fees for copying public records, except those records restricted
under Section 32.091, RSMo., shall not exceed ten cents ($.10) per
page for a paper copy not larger than nine (9) by fourteen (14) inches,
with the hourly fee for duplicating time not to exceed the average
hourly rate of pay for clerical staff of the public governmental body.
Research time required for fulfilling records requests may be charged
at the actual cost of research time. Based on the scope of the request,
the public governmental body shall produce the copies using employees
of the body that result in the lowest amount of charges for search,
research, and duplication time. Prior to producing copies of the requested
records, the person requesting the records may request the public
governmental body to provide an estimate of the cost to the person
requesting the records. Documents may be furnished without charge
or at a reduced charge when the public governmental body determines
that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because
it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of
the operations or activities of the public governmental body and is
not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
2.
Fees for providing access to public records maintained on computer
facilities, recording tapes or disks, videotapes or films, pictures,
maps, slides, graphics, illustrations or similar audio or visual items
or devices, and for paper copies larger than nine (9) by fourteen
(14) inches shall include only the cost of copies, staff time, which
shall not exceed the average hourly rate of pay for staff of the public
governmental body required for making copies and programming, if necessary,
and the cost of the disk, tape or other medium used for the duplication.
Fees for maps, blueprints or plats that require special expertise
to duplicate may include the actual rate of compensation for the trained
personnel required to duplicate such maps, blueprints or plats. If
programming is required beyond the customary and usual level to comply
with a request for records or information, the fees for compliance
may include the actual cost of such programming.
B.
Payment
of such copying fees may be requested prior to the making of copies.
[Ord. No. 06-2011 §1, 5-9-2011]
Any person employed or working for the City, or who has been entrusted with a record that is marked to indicate that it is "Confidential" or a "closed records", or who has been invited to participate in a closed meeting who nonetheless discloses any closed record, or any information about the contents of any closed meeting to any person shall be guilty of an offense under the ordinances of the City, and upon conviction therefore may be punished and fined under Section 100.170. Any such person who is employed or working for the City may also be subject to the termination of their employment as a result of such disclosure. Any such person who is an elected official may also be subject to impeachment from their office as a result of such disclosure.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the
following definitions:
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.
A record of a law enforcement agency of an arrest and of
any detention or confinement incident thereto together with the charge
therefor.
An investigation in which no further action will be taken
by a law enforcement agency or officer for any of the following reasons:
A decision by the law enforcement agency not to pursue the case.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Any system or device that captures visual signals that is
capable of installation and 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.
Any data captured by a mobile video recorder, including audio,
video, and any metadata.
A place where one would have a reasonable expectation of
privacy, including but not limited to a dwelling, school, or medical
facility.
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 4, 5 and 6 of Section 610.100, RSMo., or Section 320.083,
RSMo., mobile video recordings and investigative reports of all law
enforcement agencies and any reports or records in the possession
of the Department of Health and Senior Services' State Public Health
Laboratory, which were the result of testing performed at the request
of any municipal, county, State or Federal Law Enforcement Agency,
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 145.140 of this Chapter.
3.
Except as provided in Subsections 3 and 5 of Section 610.100, RSMo.,
a mobile video recording that is recorded in a non-public location
is authorized to be 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, upon written request, may obtain a complete, unaltered,
and unedited copy of a recording under and pursuant to Section 610.100,
RSMo.
B.
Except as provided in Subsections (C) and (D) 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 parent of such person if he or 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 145.140 for purposes of investigation of any civil claim or defense as provided by this Subsection. Any individual, legal guardian or parent of such person is he or she is a minor, his/her attorney or insurer involved in an incident or whose property is involved in an incident, upon written request, 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 having jurisdiction over the Police Department 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.
Any
person may apply pursuant to this Subsection to the Circuit Court
having jurisdiction for an order requiring a Law Enforcement Agency
to open incident reports and arrest reports being unlawfully closed
pursuant to the Section. If the court finds by a preponderance of
the evidence that the Law Enforcement Officer or Agency has knowingly
violated this Section, the officer or agency shall be subject to a
civil penalty in an amount up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
If the court finds that there is a knowing violation of this Section,
the court may order payment by such officer or agency of all costs
and attorneys' fees, as provided by Section 610.027, RSMo. If the
court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the Law Enforcement
Officer or Agency has purposely violated this Section, the officer
or agency shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount up to five
thousand dollars ($5,000.00) and the court shall order payment by
such officer or agency of all costs and attorney fees, as provided
in Section 610.027, RSMo. The court shall determine the amount of
the penalty by taking into account the size of the jurisdiction, the
seriousness of the offense, and whether the Law Enforcement Officer
or Agency has violated this Section previously.
E.
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.
F.
Any
person who requests and receives a mobile video recording that was
recorded in a non-public location under and pursuant to Section 610.100,
RSMo., 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 a law enforcement agency
or each non-law enforcement agency individual whose image or sound
is contained in the recording, and affording, upon receiving such
notice, each person appearing and whose image or sound is contained
in the mobile video recording no less than 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 Subsection is subject to damages in a civil action
proceeding.
A.
If the person arrested is charged but the case is subsequently nolle prossed, dismissed, or the accused is found not guilty, or imposition of sentence is suspended in the court in which the action is prosecuted, official records pertaining to the case shall thereafter be closed records when such case is finally terminated, except as provided in Subsection (B) of this Section and Section 145.140 and except that the court's judgment or order or the final action taken by the prosecutor in such matters may be accessed. If the accused is found not guilty due to mental disease or defect pursuant to Section 552.030, RSMo., official records pertaining to the case shall thereafter be closed records upon such findings, except that the disposition may be accessed only by law enforcement agencies, child care agencies, facilities as defined in Section 198.006, RSMo., and in-home services provider agencies as defined in Section 192.2400, RSMo., in the manner established by Section 145.140.
B.
If
the person arrested is charged with an offense found in Chapter 566,
RSMo., Section 568.045, 568.050, 568.060, 568.065, 568.175, 573.200
or 573.205, RSMo., and an imposition of sentence is suspended in the
court in which the action is prosecuted, the official records pertaining
to the case shall be made available to the victim for the purpose
of using the records in his/her own judicial proceeding or if the
victim is a minor to the victim's parents or guardian, upon request.
A.
Except as otherwise provided under Section 610.124, RSMo., records
required to be closed shall not be destroyed; they shall be inaccessible
to the general public and to all persons other than the defendant
except as provided in this Section and Chapter 43, RSMo. Closed records
shall be available to: criminal justice agencies for the administration
of criminal justice pursuant to Section 43.500, RSMo., criminal justice
employment, screening persons with access to criminal justice facilities,
procedures and sensitive information; to law enforcement agencies
for issuance or renewal of a license, permit, certification, or registration
of authority from such agency including, but not limited to, watchmen,
security personnel, and private investigators; those agencies authorized
by Chapter 43, RSMo., and applicable State law when submitting fingerprints
to the central repository; the Sentencing Advisory Commission created
in Section 558.019, RSMo., for the purpose of studying sentencing
practices in accordance with Chapter 43, RSMo.; to qualified entities
for the purpose of screening providers defined in Chapter 43, RSMo.;
the Department of Revenue for driver license administration; the Department
of Public Safety for the purposes of determining eligibility for crime
victims' compensation pursuant to Sections 595.010 to 595.075, RSMo.;
Department of Health and Senior Services for the purpose of licensing
and regulating facilities and regulating in-home services provider
agencies and Federal agencies for purposes of criminal justice administration,
criminal justice employment, child, elderly, or disabled care, and
for such investigative purposes as authorized by law or presidential
executive order.
B.
These
records shall be made available only for the purposes and to the entities
listed in this Section. A criminal justice agency receiving a request
for criminal history information under its control may require positive
identification, to include fingerprints of the subject of the record
search, prior to releasing closed record information. Dissemination
of closed and open records from the Missouri criminal records repository
shall be in accordance with Section 43.509, RSMo. All records which
are closed records shall be removed from the records of the Police
Department and Municipal Court which are available to the public and
shall be kept in separate records which are to be held confidential
and, where possible, pages of the public record shall be retyped or
rewritten omitting those portions of the record which deal with the
defendant's case. If retyping or rewriting is not feasible because
of the permanent nature of the record books, such record entries shall
be blacked out and recopied in a confidential book.
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 145.120. 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.
A.
The
City of Louisiana Police Department, if it maintains a daily log or
record that lists suspected crimes, accidents or complaints, shall
make available the following information for inspection and copying
by the public:
