[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
As used in this Article, 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 the provisions of this Chapter, if duplication equipment
is available.
All matters which relate in any way to the performance of
the City's functions or the conduct of its business.
Any legislative, administrative, governmental entity created
by the Constitution or Statutes of this State, orders or ordinance
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 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 Mayor, Board of Aldermen or the City Administrator,
policy or policy revisions or expenditures of public funds. The custodian
of the records of any public governmental body shall maintain a list
of the policy advisory committees described in this Subsection; and
Any quasi-public governmental body.
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 public 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 document or study prepared for a public governmental
body by a consultant or other professional service as described in
this Section 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.
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 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.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
All meetings, records and votes of a public governmental body of
the City of Brentwood are open to the public, except that any meeting,
record, minutes 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 government 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 610.111, 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 herein, the term "personal information" means information
relating to the performance or merit of individual employees.
4.
Non-judicial mental or physical health proceedings involving
identifiable persons, 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. It is the policy of the City that
no information relating to present or past employees other than names,
positions, salaries and lengths of service shall be provided to any
person or agency other than:
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.
Records that identify the configuration of components or the
operation of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network and would allow unauthorized access to or unlawful disruption
of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network of a public governmental body. This exception shall not be
used to limit or deny access to otherwise public records in a file,
document, data file or database containing public records. Records
related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to such computer,
computer system, computer network or telecommunications network, including
the amount of monies paid by, or on behalf of, a public governmental
body for such computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network, shall be open.
20.
Credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, digital
certificates, physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization
codes that are used to protect the security of electronic transactions
between a public governmental body and a person or entity doing business
with a public governmental body. Nothing in this Section shall be
deemed to close the record of a person or entity using a credit card
held in the name of a public governmental body or any record of a
transaction made by a person using a credit card or other method of
payment for which reimbursement is made by a public governmental body.
21.
Pursuant to Section 590.1040, RSMo., notes, records or reports
arising out of a peer support counseling session as defined in such
statute are not public records.
22.
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.
[Ord. No. 4888, 8-19-2019]
A.
Meetings
Using Video Conference Technology.
1.
Policy Statement. While it is legally permissible for members of
the City'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 video
conference attendance is unavoidable, after exercising due diligence
to arrange for physical presence at the meeting.
a.
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
a physical attendance of a quorum of the body's members.
b.
A secondary purpose of attendance by video conference should be to
ensure that all members may participate in business of the public
governmental body.
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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.
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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 governmental body participates
in the public meeting via an electronic connection made up of two
(2) components:
1.
A live audio and video transmission allowing the member of the public
governmental body not in physical attendance to be seen and heard
by those in physical attendance; and
2.
A live audio and video transmission allowing the member of the public
governmental body not in physical attendance to see and hear those
in physical attendance at a meeting.
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If the member of the public governmental body not in physical
attendance becomes unable to see and hear the meeting or the members
of the governmental body in physical attendance become unable to see
and hear the member not in physical attendance, 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.
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C.
Frequency Of Use Of Video Conference Attendance. In keeping with the policy stated in Subsection (A) above, attendance via video conference should only occur sparingly and for good cause.
1.
Such good cause shall be at the discretion of the Board at the request
of a member seeking to attend by video conference.
2.
At the commencement of a meeting of a public governmental body, the
attendance of a member by video conference shall be taken up for disclosure
and consideration of the good cause for the absence of the member,
and a vote taken to approve the attendance via video conference. The
vote of the member attending by video conference shall be included.
The minutes of the meeting shall record the vote on attendance of
the meeting via video conference.
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 the 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. The public
governmental body shall cause there to be provided at the physical
location communication equipment consisting of an audio and visual
display, a camera and a microphone so that the members 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 meaning in
accordance with rules of meeting to quorum. The communication equipment
at the physical location at the meeting must allow for all meeting
attendees to see, hear, and fully communicate with the videoconferencing
participant.
E.
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 vote, including a roll call vote, to the same extent as 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 or the member's remote attendance is terminated or abandoned. If the connection with the member attending the meeting by video conference fails during the voting process and before the results are announced the member's vote, if any, is nullified and shall not be counted.
F.
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 City ordinances
relating to closed sessions apply. Upon the public governmental body's
initiation of a closed meeting, all members of the general public
not required for purposes of the closed meeting and invited to the
attend by the public governmental body, shall be excluded. 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(s), if any, participating via video
conference, the members in physical attendance, and members, if any,
absent.
H.
Emergency Meetings And Quorum. In addition to the provisions of Section 145.080, in the event that emergency circumstances prevent the members of a public governmental body to physically attend, the body may meet and vote by video conference without the requirement that a quorum be physically present in the same place. Examples of such emergency circumstances, include, but are not limited to war, riot, terrorism, widespread fire, or natural disaster, such as earthquake, tornado, hurricane, flood, or blizzard. To the extent reasonably 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. The nature of the emergency shall be recorded in the minutes. If no emergency exists, a quorum of the public governmental body shall be physically present at the physical location for which notice of a meeting is provided.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
In order to allow the fullest cooperation by employees and members
of the public in investigation of matters wherein an employee of the
City is alleged to have engaged in any form of misconduct, all files,
records and documents relating to investigations of allegations of
misconduct by City employees will be considered to be personnel records
and shall be closed records under the custody of the respective department
head or personnel office.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
All information obtained by the City regarding medical examinations,
medical condition or medical history of City employees or job applicants,
if retained by the City, shall be collected and maintained on separate
forms and in separate medical files and shall be treated as closed
and confidential records, except that:
1.
Supervisors and managers may be informed regarding necessary
restrictions on the work duties of employees and necessary accommodations;
2.
First aid and safety personnel may be informed, when appropriate,
if the information reflects the existence of a disability which might
require emergency treatment; or
3.
Government officials investigating compliance with State or
Federal law pertaining to treatment of persons with disabilities may
be allowed access to such records.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
In order to protect reasonable expectations of privacy on the part
of persons having dealings with the City, City records containing
information or entries of a personal, confidential, private or proprietary
nature, including, but not limited to, income, sales data, financial
circumstances, household and family relationships, Social Security
numbers, dates of birth, insurance information and other information
which reasonable persons generally regard as private and not a customary
subject for public discourse, which information or entries have been
provided to the City by one complying with regulations requiring the
disclosure of such information, shall be excised from copies of City
records disclosed or provided to members of the public other than
those persons to whom the information of entries pertain. Persons
desiring access to information or entries excised from such records
may file a supplementary written request with the City Clerk for disclosure
of material to be specified in the request, which request should state:
B.
The City Clerk may afford all interested parties, including the persons
to whom the information pertains, a reasonable time within which to
comment on the requested disclosure prior to acting further on the
request. If an interested person objects to the disclosure of the
requested information, the City Clerk may conduct a hearing at which
all interested parties may be heard. At such hearing the Clerk shall
consider, among such other factors as may be reasonable and relevant:
1.
The requirements and intent of State law, City ordinances and
this policy;
2.
The legitimate expectations of privacy on the part of interested
parties;
3.
The personal, confidential, private or proprietary nature of
the information at issue;
4.
Whether the information was obtained by the City under compulsion
of law or was freely and voluntarily provided by the persons objecting
to the disclosure; and
5.
The public purposes to be served by disclosure of the requested
information.
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If the City Clerk determines that disclosure is legally required
or would otherwise serve the best interests of the public and that
such requirements or purpose outweigh the legitimate concerns or interest
of the persons to whom the information pertains, the Clerk shall provide
the requested information to the requesting party.
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C.
In addition to or in lieu of the hearing described above, the City Clerk may afford all interested parties a reasonable opportunity to seek judicial review of or relief from the proposed disclosure. The City Clerk may also utilize the procedures for judicial determination and/or opinion solicitation provided in Section 145.120.
D.
Records and information that have been closed pursuant to the provisions
of this Chapter, Chapter 610, RSMo., and other relevant State and
Federal laws and regulations are to be treated as confidential by
all employees and elected and appointed officials of the City.
1.
It shall be grounds for disciplinary action for any employee
to:
a.
Violate the confidentiality relating to such records or information;
b.
Copy or remove closed and/or confidential information without
the specific consent of the custodian thereof or in the normal course
of performing such employee's duties for the City;
c.
Provide or discuss closed records or confidential information
with any person other than as a necessary part of performing such
employee's duties for the City; or
d.
Divulge, discuss or disclose information or records addressed
in any closed meeting of a public governmental body, other than as
a necessary part of performing such employee's duties for the City.
2.
Elected and appointed officials are also expected to maintain
the same strict standards of confidentiality required of employees.
Breach of the confidentiality standards established by this Chapter
and required of employees in this Section may be grounds for removal
from office or other sanctions as may be deemed appropriate by the
body of which such official is a member or by the Board of Aldermen.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
Each public governmental body shall give notice of the time, date,
place and tentative agenda of each meeting 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 at City
Hall or other prominent place which is easily accessible to the public
and clearly designated for that purpose at the City Hall.
B.
The notice shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays when the 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; provided, however, that 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 shall give notice conforming with all the requirements of law at least four (4) days before the Board of Aldermen may vote on such issues, exclusive of weekends and holidays when the facility is closed, and provided, further, that the exception above and in Subsection (C) below concerning shorter reasonable notice periods if required notice is impossible or impractical shall not apply to meetings requiring four (4) days' notice.
C.
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.
D.
A formally constituted subunit of a parent governmental body may
conduct a meeting without notice as required by this Section 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.
E.
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 allowed without permission of the public
body; any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of an
ordinance violation and punished by imprisonment for a period not
to exceed fifteen (15) days, a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars
($300.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
A public governmental body proposing to hold a closed meeting or
vote may do so by either:
1.
Giving notice of same pursuant to the provisions of this Article
along with reference to the specific exception allowing such a closed
meeting under State law; or
2.
Upon an affirmative public vote of the majority of a quorum
of the public governmental body. The vote of each member of the public
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 the specific exception allowing such a closed meeting
under State law 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 610.021, RSMo., 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.
C.
In the event any member of a public governmental body makes a motion
to close a meeting, or a record, or a vote from the public and any
other member believes that such motion, if passed, would cause a meeting,
record or vote to be closed from the public in violation of any provision
in Chapter 610, RSMo., or this Article, such latter member shall state
his or her objection to the motion at or before the time the vote
is taken on the motion. The public governmental body shall enter in
the minutes of the public governmental body any objection made pursuant
to this Subsection. Any member making such an objection shall be allowed
to fully participate in any meeting, record or vote that is closed
from the public over the member's objection. In the event the objecting
member also voted in opposition to the motion to close the meeting,
record or vote at issue, the objection and vote of the member as entered
in the minutes shall be an absolute defense to any claim filed against
the objecting member pursuant to Chapter 610, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
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 votes taken at such meeting. The minutes shall
include the date, time, place, members present, members absent and
a record of any votes taken.
B.
All votes by members of a public governmental body at any meeting
shall be recorded. 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 body. Any votes taken
during a closed meeting shall be taken by roll call and the minutes
of the closed meeting, sufficient to reflect the vote pursuant to
this Subsection, shall be recorded. All votes taken by roll call in
meetings of a public governmental body consisting of members who are
all elected, except for any committee established by a public governmental
body, 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 videoconferencing. 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.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
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.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
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. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
The City Clerk shall be the custodian of records and will be responsible
for maintenance and control of all records. The City Administrator
may designate deputy custodians in operating departments of the City
and such other departments or offices as the City Administrator may
determine. Deputy custodians shall conduct matters relating to public
records and meetings in accord with the policies enumerated herein.
B.
Except as otherwise provided by law, the City shall provide access
to and, upon request, furnish copies of the City's public records
subject to the provisions of the Code of Ordinances relating to copying
fees. No person shall remove original public records from the City
Hall or from the office of the custodian of records without written
permission of the custodian. No public governmental body shall 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.
The custodian of records may require persons seeking access to public
records to submit such request in writing and/or on a form designated
by the custodian for such purpose. Such written request shall be sufficiently
particular to reasonably apprize the custodian of the records sought.
D.
Each request for access to a public record shall be acted upon as
soon as possible, but in no event later than the end of the third
business day following the date the request is received by the custodian
of records. 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.
E.
If a request for access is denied, the custodian of records shall
provide, upon request, a written statement of the grounds for such
denial. Such statement shall cite the specific provision of law under
which access is denied and shall be furnished to the requester no
later than the end of the third business day following the date that
the request for the statement is received.
F.
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 Subsection shall only apply to messages sent to other 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,
however, to the exceptions for closed records as provided by law.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A public governmental body or record custodian in doubt about
the legality of closing a particular meeting, record or vote may,
subject to approval by the Board of Aldermen, bring suit in the Circuit
Court for the County of St. Louis to ascertain the propriety of such
action. In addition, subject to approval by the Board of Aldermen,
the public governmental body or custodian may seek a formal opinion
of the Attorney General or an attorney for the City regarding the
propriety of such action. In such events, the proposed closed meeting
or public access to the record or vote shall be deferred for a reasonable
time pending the outcome of the actions so taken.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
The custodian shall charge ten cents ($0.10) per page for a paper
copy not larger than nine (9) by fourteen (14) inches, plus an hourly
fee for duplicating time not to exceed the average hourly rate of
pay for clerical staff of the City. 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 City shall produce the copies
using employees of the City 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 City to provide an estimate of the cost to the person requesting
the records. The custodian shall receive (or may require) payment
prior to duplicating and/or searching for documents.
B.
Fees for providing access to public records maintained on computer
facilities, recording tapes or disks, video tapes 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 City required
for making copies and programming, if necessary, and the cost of the
disk or 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 costs of such programming.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
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.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
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. Notwithstanding any other provision of law other than the provisions of Subsection (C) of this Section or Section 320.083, RSMo., investigative reports of the Police Department 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. 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 except as provided in Section 145.170.
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 Article.
C.
Any person, including a family member of such person within the first degree of consanguinity if such person is 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 145.170 for purposes of investigation of any civil claim or defense as provided by this Subsection. Any individual, his or her family member within the first degree of consanguinity if such individual is deceased or incompetent, 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.
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.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
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 that the disposition portion of the record may be accessed as provided in Section 145.170. 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 660.250, RSMo., in the manner established by Section 145.170.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
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, Section 610.120,
RSMo., and Chapter 43, RSMo. The 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, private investigators; those agencies authorized by Chapter
43, RSMo., and applicable State law to submit and 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 Division
of Workers' Compensation 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.
C.
All records ordered to be expunged pursuant to Section 610.123, RSMo.,
shall be destroyed, except that if such destruction of the record
is not feasible because of the permanent nature of the record books,
such record entries shall be blacked out. Entries of a record ordered
expunged pursuant to Section 610.123, RSMo., shall be removed from
all electronic files. All records ordered to be expunged pursuant
to Section 610.140, RSMo., shall be closed in the manner established
therein and in Section 610.120, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
Excepted as provided by this Section, any information acquired by the Police Department 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 145.150. Any closed records pursuant to this Section shall be available upon request by law enforcement agencies or the Division of Workers' Compensation or pursuant to a valid court order authorizing disclosure upon motion and good cause shown.
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
A.
The City of Brentwood 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:
[Ord. No. 4872, 3-18-2019]
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary,
information in law enforcement agency records that would enable the
provision of health care to a person in contact with law enforcement
may be released for the purpose of health care coordination to any
health care provider, as defined in the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, that is providing or may
provide services to the person.
