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
120.110 of this Chapter, if duplication equipment is available.
PUBLIC BUSINESS
All matters which relate in any way to performance of the
Village'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 Village, judicial entities when operating in an administrative
capacity or by executive order, including:
1.
Any advisory committee or commission appointed by the Chairman
or Board of Trustees.
2.
Any department or division of the Village.
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 Village, 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. 20-22, 10-27-2022]
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.
Operational guidelines and policies 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 is or appears to be terrorist in nature
and which has the potential to endanger individual or public safety
or health. Nothing in this exception shall be deemed to close information
regarding expenditures, purchases, or contracts made by an agency
in implementing these guidelines or policies. When seeking to close
information pursuant to this exception, the agency shall affirmatively
state, in writing, that disclosure would impair its ability to protect
the safety or health of persons, and shall in the same writing state
that the public interest in non-disclosure outweighs the public interest
in disclosure of the records. This exception shall sunset on December
31, 2012.
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.
d.
This exception shall sunset on December 31, 2012.
18.
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.
19.
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.
20.
The portion of a record that identifies security systems or
access codes or authorization codes for security systems of real property.
21.
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 moneys paid by, or on behalf of, a public
governmental body for such computer, computer system, computer network,
or telecommunications network shall be open.
22.
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.
23.
Records submitted by an individual, corporation, or other business
entity to a public institution of higher education in connection with
a proposal to license intellectual property or perform sponsored research
and which contains sales projections or other business plan information
the disclosure of which may endanger the competitiveness of a business.
24.
Records relating to foster home or kinship placements of children
in foster care under Section 210.498 RSMo.
25.
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.
[Ord. No. 04-20, 4-2-2020]
A. Policy
Statement. While it is legally permissible for members of the Village's
public governmental 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 a 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 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 physically 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
governmental body not in physical attendance; or (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;
or (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 two (2) meetings via video conference in a rolling twelve-month period, unless specifically waived and additional appearances be allowed by a majority of the Board of Trustees. 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, including, but not limited to, 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 and declared National or State of Missouri declaration of a State of Emergency.
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 provided in accordance with the Sunshine Law.
E. Public
Access. If the governmental body chooses to have a meeting by telephone
or other electronic means and there exist no physical location of
the meeting. The public governmental body shall include in their meeting
notice, information on how the public may access that meeting via
telephone or other electronic means.
F. Quorum.
Members of the governmental body must be at the physical location
for the meeting or appearing by "video conference" to be counted towards
the quorum. Any member appearing solely by voice or conference call
is not counted as present for quorum.
G. Participation.
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 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. This requirement shall be subject to social interaction
limitations or restrictions as duly enacted by the Village of Airport
Drive Board of Trustees, State of Missouri or United States of America.
H. Voting. Elected members of a public governmental body attending a public meeting of that 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 governmental body in physical attendance at a public meeting of that 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.
I. Closed
Meetings. In a meeting where a member of a public governmental body
is participating via videoconferencing and the meeting goes into a
closed session, all provisions of Missouri law and Village 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 the
Village of Airport Drive ordinance and regulations.
J. 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.
K. Emergency
Meetings. In the event that emergency circumstances create impossibility
for the members of a public governmental body to physically attend,
the body as a whole may meet, and if necessary, vote pursuant to Section
610.015, RSMo., by telephone, facsimile, internet or any other voice
or electronic means. Examples of such emergency circumstances, include,
but are not limited to, declaration of national emergency, war, riot,
terrorism, widespread fire, or natural disaster such as earthquake,
tornado, hurricane, flood, or blizzard. To the extent possible in
such circumstances, the public governmental body shall use reasonable
efforts to cause a physical location to be provided for public attendance
and participation.
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.
Law enforcement records of the Sheriff's Department or other
public governmental body providing services to the Village, including
arrest reports, incident reports, and investigative reports, are records
of said Department and not of the Village. The Village Clerk is not
the custodian of such records and shall direct individuals requesting
such records to the Sheriff's Department.