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 120.110 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 Board of Aldermen.
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. 101213 §1, 12-13-2010]
A.Â
All
meetings, records and votes are open to the public, except the governmental
body may close any meeting, record or vote relating to the following:
1.Â
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 litigation involving a public governmental body shall be upon final
disposition of the matter voted upon; or upon the signing by the parties
of the settlement agreement unless the settlement agreement is ordered
closed by a court; 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.Â
Lease, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body
where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the
legal consideration therefore. However, any minutes, vote or public
record approving a contract relating to the lease, purchase or sale
of real estate by a public governmental body shall be made public
within seventy-two (72) hours after execution of the lease, purchase
or sale of the real estate.
3.Â
Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting an employee of a public
governmental body. 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, must be made available
to the public with a record of how each member voted 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 before such decision is made available to the public.
4.Â
Non-judicial mental or physical health proceeding involving identifiable
persons, including medical, psychiatric, psychological or alcoholism
or drug dependency diagnosis or treatment.
5.Â
Testing and examination materials, before the test or examination
is given or if it is to be given again before so given again.
6.Â
Welfare cases of identifiable individuals.
7.Â
Preparation, including any discussions or work product for negotiations
with employee groups.
8.Â
Software codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof.
9.Â
Specifications for competitive bidding, until either the specifications
are officially approved by the public governmental body or the specifications
are published for bid.
10.Â
Sealed bids and related documents, until the earlier of either when
the bids are opened, or all bids are accepted or all bids are rejected.
11.Â
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.Â
Records that are protected from disclosure by law.
13.Â
Meetings and public records relating to scientific and technological
innovations in which the owner has a proprietary interest.
14.Â
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.
15.Â
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 is or appears to be terrorist
in nature and 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.
16.Â
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.Â
Records related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to
security systems purchased with public funds shall be open.
b.Â
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.Â
Records that are voluntarily submitted by a non-public entity shall
be reviewed within ninety (90) days of submission to determine if
retention of documents is necessary in furtherance of security interest.
If retention is not necessary, the documents shall be returned to
the non-public governmental body or destroyed.
17.Â
The portion of a record that identifies security systems or access
codes or authorization codes for security systems of real property.
18.Â
Records that identity 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 the 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.Â
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.
20.Â
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.
B.Â
All
records that may be closed hereby are deemed closed records unless
the governmental body votes to make them public. Before closing a
meeting to the public, a majority of a quorum of the governmental
body must 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.
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. 101213 §1, 12-13-2010]
A.Â
Notice
shall be given in accordance with Chapter 610, RSMo. A summary of
the notice requirements are provided herein.
1.Â
The governmental body shall give notice of the time, date and place
of a closed meeting and the reason for holding it by reference to
a specific exception. The notice shall be the same as in (4) below.
No other business may be discussed in a closed meeting that does not
directly relate to the specific reason announced to close the meeting
to the public. Public governmental bodies holding a closed meeting
must close only an existing portion of the meeting facility necessary
to house the members of the public governmental body in the enclosed
session, among members of the public to remain to attend any subsequent
open session held by the public governmental body following the closed
session.
2.Â
The governmental body shall give notice of the time, date, place
and tentative agenda of each meeting. The notice shall be placed on
the appropriate bulletin board at City Hall at least twenty-four (24)
hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays, prior to the meeting. Notice
also shall be given to any representative of the news media who requests
notice of a particular meeting.
3.Â
Each meeting shall be held at a place reasonably accessible the public,
and at a time reasonably convenient to the public, unless for good
cause such a place or time is impossible or impractical. 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 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.
4.Â
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.
B.Â
The
taping of public meetings shall be allowed in accordance with Chapter
610, RSMo. A summary of what is allowed is provided herein:
1.Â
A public body shall allow for the recording by audiotape, videotape,
or other electronic means of any open meeting. A public body 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 610.021, RSMo., shall be permitted without permission of the
public body; any person who violates this provision shall be guilty
of a Class C misdemeanor.
C.Â
E-mails
among members of public bodies is governed in accordance with Chapter
610, RSMo. A summary of the requirement is provided herein:
1.Â
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 exceptions above.
D.Â
Setting
agenda for open meetings and requesting closed sessions:
[Ord. No. 150608F §1, 6-8-2015]
1.Â
The agenda for the open meetings and closed meetings shall be established
by the City Administrator who shall provide such information to the
City Clerk by 5:00 P.M. seven (7) business days before any open meeting.
The agenda for a closed meeting shall be established by the City Administrator
who shall provide such information to the City Clerk by 5:00 P.M.
three (3) business days before any closed meeting. The Mayor shall
make the final approval on all Board of Aldermen agendas. If the City
does not have a City Administrator, the agenda for the open meetings
and closed meetings shall be established by the City Clerk with the
final approval of the Mayor.
2.Â
Any member of the Board of Aldermen and/or the Mayor may request
an agenda item be added to an open or closed meeting and may request
a closed session be held; however, such request must be made by 12:00
Noon five (5) business days prior to the open meeting and three (3)
days prior to the closed meeting and must include sufficient information
to fairly advise members of the Board of Aldermen and Mayor of the
nature and substance of each agenda item. Any such requests shall
be made to the City Administrator; however, if the City does not have
a City Administrator, the requests shall be made to the City Clerk,
either of which shall be charged with honoring the request if such
member of the Board of Alderman and/or the Mayor making the request
strictly abided by all of the provisions of this Subsection. The Mayor
shall make the final approval on all Board of Aldermen agendas. The
City Clerk shall provide members of the Board of Aldermen and/or the
Mayor information concerning the substance and nature of each agenda
item or matter in sufficient detail to allow them to make reasonable
preparations to consider the matter.
For any public meeting where a vote of the Board of Aldermen
is required to implement a tax increase, or with respect to a retail
development project when the Board of Aldermen votes to utilize the
power of eminent domain, create a transportation development district
or a community improvement district, or approve a redevelopment plan
that pledges public funds as financing for the project or plan, the
Board of Aldermen, or any entity created by the City, shall give notice
conforming with all the requirements of Subsection (1) of Section
610.020, RSMo., at least four (4) days before such entity may vote
on such issues, exclusive of weekends and holidays when the facility
is closed; provided that this Section shall not apply to any votes
or discussion related to proposed ordinances which require a minimum
of two (2) separate readings on different days for their passage.
The provisions of Subsection (4) of Section 610.020, RSMo., shall
not apply to any matters that are subject to the provisions of this
Section. No vote shall occur until after a public meeting on the matter
at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity
to be heard. If the notice required under this Section is not properly
given, no vote on such issues shall be held until proper notice has
been provided under this Section. Any legal action challenging the
notice requirements provided herein shall be filed within thirty (30)
days of the subject meeting, or such meeting shall be deemed to have
been properly noticed and held. For the purpose of this Section, a
tax increase shall not include the setting of the annual tax rates
provided for under Sections 67.110 and 137.055, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 101213 §1, 12-13-2010]
A.Â
Except as set forth in Section 120.040, 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.Â
Any meeting or vote closed pursuant to Section 120.020 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.Â
Except as provided in Section 120.020, 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.Â
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.
A.Â
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.Â
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.
[Ord. No. 101213 §1, 12-13-2010]
A.Â
The
City Clerk is the custodian of records and shall provide these records
in accordance with Chapter 610, RSMo. A summary of the production
required is provided herein:
1.Â
The City Clerk shall be the custodian of records and will be responsible
for maintenance and control of all records. The custodian shall provide
public access to all public records as soon as possible but no later
than the third (3rd) business day following the date the request is
received by the custodian. If additional delay is necessary, the custodian
shall give an explanation for the delay and the date the record will
be available for inspection. This period for document production may
exceed three (3) days for reasonable cause.
2.Â
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 desired and shall furnished to the requester no later than the
end of the third (3rd) business day following the date the request
for the statement is received. The custodian may designate deputy
custodians in the following departments: Finance Department, Water
Department, and Municipal Court.
A.Â
The remedies provided by this Section against public governmental bodies shall be in addition to those provided by any other provision of law. Any aggrieved person, taxpayer to, or citizen of this State may seek judicial enforcement of the requirements of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo. Suits to enforce Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., shall be brought in the Circuit Court for the County in which the public governmental body has its principal place of business. Upon service of a summons, petition, complaint, counterclaim or cross-claim in a civil action brought to enforce the provisions of Sections 610.010 to 610.027, RSMo., the custodian of the public record that is the subject matter of such civil action shall not transfer custody, alter, destroy or otherwise dispose of the public record sought to be inspected and examined, notwithstanding the applicability of an exemption pursuant to Section 610.021, RSMo., or the assertion that the requested record is not a public record until the court directs otherwise.
B.Â
Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., demonstrates to the court that the body in question is subject to the requirements of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., and has held a closed meeting, record or vote, the burden of persuasion shall be on the body and its members to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo.
C.Â
Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a public governmental body or a member of a public governmental body has knowingly violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., the public governmental body or the member 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 Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., the court may order the payment by such body or member of all costs and reasonable attorney fees to any party successfully establishing a violation. 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 public governmental body or member of a public governmental body has violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., previously.
D.Â
Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a public governmental body or a member of a public governmental body has purposely violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., the public governmental body or the member shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount up to five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). If the court finds that there was a purposeful violation of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., then the court shall order the payment by such body or member of all costs and reasonable attorney fees to any party successfully establishing such a violation. 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 public governmental body or member of a public governmental body has violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., previously.
E.Â
Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a public governmental body has violated any provision of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., a court shall void any action taken in violation of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., if the court finds under the facts of the particular case that the public interest in the enforcement of the policy of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., outweighs the public interest in sustaining the validity of the action taken in the closed meeting, record or vote. Suit for enforcement shall be brought within one (1) year from which the violation is ascertainable and in no event shall it be brought later than two (2) years after the violation. This Subsection shall not apply to an action taken regarding the issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness of a public governmental body if a public hearing, election or public sale has been held regarding the bonds or evidence of indebtedness.
F.Â
A public
governmental body which is in doubt about the legality of closing
a particular meeting, record or vote may bring suit at the expense
of that public governmental body in the Circuit Court of the County
of the public governmental body's principal place of business to ascertain
the propriety of any such action, or seek a formal opinion of the
attorney general or an attorney for the governmental body.
[Ord. No. 101213 §1, 12-13-2010]
A.Â
The
fees for copying public records is governed by Chapter 610, RSMo.
The specific fee schedule for the City of Willard is provided herein:
1.Â
The first twenty (20) pages of any records request shall be provided
at no cost.
2.Â
The custodian shall charge ten cents ($.10) per page beginning with
the twenty-first (21st) page of any records request.
3.Â
The custodian shall charge five dollars ($5.00) for records produced
in a CD or DVD format.
4.Â
Research time for staff shall be charged in six (6) minute intervals
based on the employee's wages.
5.Â
A cost deposit shall be required for any estimate of fees exceeding
twenty dollars ($20.00) or seventy-five percent (75%) of the cost,
depending on the magnitude of the request.
6.Â
Elected and appointed officials of the City shall not be charged
any fees for records requested unless the custodian reasonably believes
that the request will take a substantial amount of research time and
duplication time to fill. In that instance, the fees to be charged
that elected or appointed official shall be placed on the agenda for
the next Board of Aldermen meeting where a vote shall be taken on
the fees to be charged.
7.Â
Records requested may be produced without charge or at a reduced
charge when the Board of Aldermen determines that a waiver or reduction
of the fee is in the public interest. A request for no fee or reduction
in fee shall be placed on the agenda of the next Board of Aldermen
meeting where a vote shall be taken on the fees to be charged.
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
If any person is arrested and not charged with an offense against the law within thirty (30) days of the person's arrest, the arrest report shall thereafter be a closed record except that the disposition portion of the record may be accessed and except as provided in Section 120.150 of this Chapter.
3.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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 120.150 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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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 120.150 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 120.150.
B.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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 120.130. 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.Â
The
City of Willard 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:
