Tompkins County Administrative Policy Manual

MINUTES OF MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF REPRESENTATIVES AND ITS COMMITTEES

Effective: February 21, 1995 01-00

Definition: Minutes are the official record of the meetings of an established body.

Policy of the Board of Representatives:

1. It is the policy of the Board of Representatives that the minutes of its meetings and of the meetings of its Committees shall: 1) provide a timely, accurate, and understandable record of the actions of those groups for members of the public, for future readers, and for those who are not able to attend those proceedings; 2) ensure that appropriate follow-up actions are taken on the actions of the group; 3) ensure that the group itself has confirmed what are its own decisions and, where deemed to be needed, what are the reasons for those decisions; and 4) ensure that a Board member's record is clear to the public.

2. All staff who prepare minutes of meetings of the Board and its committees shall be expected to include the following in them and to adhere at a minimum to the following standards and practices in their preparation:

A. A heading that includes the name of the group that is meeting; the location and date of the meeting; the names of all members of the group and whether they are present, absent, or excused; the names and affiliation or identification of any other persons who attend and participate in the deliberations of the group; the time the meeting started; the point in the meeting where members arrive and leave; and the time the meeting adjourned. All subjects included in the minutes shall appear in the actual order that they occurred in the meeting.

B. An attendance sheet which includes a place for names, addresses and affiliations may be circulated at meetings. If this is done, this sheet shall be filed with the original copy of the minutes of the meetings in the office of the Clerk of the Board of Representatives.

C. Any statement that any member of the group makes and requests to be included.

D. With respect only to meetings of the Board of Representatives, a summary of all comments made by members of the public and of the Board of Representatives under Privilege of the Floor.

E. The name of the preparer at the conclusion of the document.

F. Every action taken and subject raised; these include only the following:

1. Formal resolutions and motions of all kinds, irrespective of the group's decision about them (including even withdrawal), including mover, seconder, and the vote of each person present. To the greatest extent possible the rationale for a resolution or motion should appear in the resolution or motion.

2. Any formal or informal action; this shall include an action as informal as, for example, the Chair stating that a particular subject will appear on the next agenda. This includes any formal or informal decision of the group that follow-up is expected; any such notation should include the name(s) of the person(s) expected to follow up and the date by which the follow-up is expected to be completed.

3. Subjects raised and discussed that do not fall under a) or b) above, including a notation of any action of the group as a whole resulting from those discussions. Minutes need not include a summary of the content of those discussions.

G. Draft minutes must include the word "Draft" at the top and the date that the draft is submitted. Every effort must be made to provide draft minutes quickly enough so that members not in attendance can know what happened and so that the draft and any proposed amendments to it can be reviewed prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the group and approved at that meeting. The goal in this respect shall be to provide draft minutes of committee meetings within one to two working days, and of Board meetings within five working days.

H. Approved minutes must include the word "Approved" at the top and the date that the approval took place.

3. Any party who proposes substantive revisions to draft minutes of meetings of the Board or any of its committees shall prepare and submit same in a readable and timely manner so that all members may review them prior to being asked to vote on them.

Procedure of the Clerk of the Board of Representatives:

All persons who prepare minutes of meetings of the Committees of the Board shall forward for filing a copy of the approved minutes to the office of the Clerk of the Board with a copy of all resolutions acted on by the Committee unless those resolutions were later approved by the Board of Representatives.