Minute By Minute – Brattleboro Boards Having Trouble Abiding By Open Meeting Law

Brattleboro has had two recent minute-related incidents that were slightly out of the ordinary. In one case, a school board member requested that something not discussed at a previous meeting be added to the official minutes to clarify something. In the other, a selectboard member held back approval of minutes until they could be edited for stylistic changes. The selectboard has also struggled to meet required deadlines for posting of minutes.

Let’s look at the school board. According to the minutes for the June 21 WSESD board:

DSC asked to amend the minutes to include the following statement: “EST plans are fluid based on the needs of students and the resources we have available to meet those needs. Parents are always invited to meetings and informed of the support their children are receiving. If for whatever reason a parent cannot attend a meeting this does not delay our work to support ALL of our kids. This is a proactive approach to supporting students that does not include the same rules and regulations of an IEP (Spec Ed Plan.)”

DSC explained that this statement was not discussed at the June 7 meeting, but it clarifies EST.

Board Recorder Wendy M. Levy asked KY how this should be included in the June 7 minutes. KY did not respond. DSC said, “Include it as an addendum. [School Secretary] Barb [Nowakowski] will know what to do with it.”

And here’s what happened at the July 5th Selectboard Meeting:

Jessica Gelter – “I  move we approve the minutes of June 14th, 2022, which is a different motion than I might make because there was an additional set of minutes, however I didn’t get a chance to edit those minutes and I want to make sure that I take care to do that before submitting them officially. So, the motion is for the June 14th minutes.

IanGoodnow –  “….they haven’t had an opportunity to be edited for substantive change? Or stylistic, or…?

Jessica – “Stylistic change. It’s more a transcript than minutes right now.”

The board delayed the June 21 minutes. The most recent selectboard minutes posted on the official Brattleboro town web site are for the June 14, 2022 meeting. By law, the July 5th meeting minutes should be posted by now.

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What are the official rules on meeting minutes? Vermont League of Cities and Towns says (emphasis mine…):

• MINUTES: 
  • Must be taken at every public meeting. Minutes need not be taken in executive session, but if they are, they are not subject to a public records request. 1 V.S.A. §§ 312(b)(1), 313(a). 
  • Minutes must give a true indication of the business of the meeting – which may require supplementing the following statutorily-required elements: (1) the members present; (2) active participants; (3) motions, proposals, and resolutions made, offered, and considered, and what disposition is made of the same; (4) the result of any votes taken; and (5) a record of individual votes if a roll call is taken. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(1). 
  • Must be kept by the secretary or clerk of the public body (not necessarily the Town Clerk). 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(1). 
  • Five calendar days after the meeting minutes must be available for inspection and copying and must be posted to a website, if one exists, that is maintained or has been designated as the official website. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2). 
  • Except for draft minutes that have been substituted with updated minutes, posted minutes shall not be removed from the website sooner than one year from the date of the meeting for which the minutes were taken. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2). 

VCLT offers the following additional clarification:

“What must be included in the minutes?

Meeting minutes do not have to be a transcript of the meeting. Minutes must give a “true indication of the business of the meeting” – which may require supplementing the following statutorily-required elements: members present; active participants at the meeting; motions, proposals, and resolutions made, offered, and considered and what disposition is made of the same; the result of any votes taken; and a record of individual votes if a roll call is taken. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(1).

When must minutes be available/posted?

Minutes must be available for inspection five calendar days after the meeting. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2). In addition, minutes must be posted no later than five calendar days after the meeting to an official website, if one exists, that is maintained or has been designated as the official website of the public body. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2). Except for draft minutes that have been substituted with updated minutes, posted minutes shall not be removed from the website sooner than one year from the date of the meeting for which the minutes were taken.1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2).

How can we have time to approve or finalize the minutes if they have to be available within 5 days? 

There is nothing in the Open Meeting Law that requires any official finalization, correction, or approval action by the public body. Since there is no law on the subject it is up to each public body to decide whether and how it will deal with corrections, approvals, etc. Many public bodies make it a practice to create a set of minutes labeled “draft” or “unapproved” and subsequently correct and “approve” those minutes at a subsequent meeting. This is done as an acknowledgement that the body has read the draft minutes and agree that they accurately reflect what took place at the meeting.”

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