The City Council hereby adopts the policies titled procedures for transcription of meeting minutes and procedures for the use of tape recordings at City meetings, as follows:
A. Written Minutes Required: Written minutes of all meetings, open or closed, will be maintained by the City Council and each board, commission or committee appointed by the City Council. Minutes of all public bodies will be taken by the City Clerk or, in the absence of the City Clerk, by a person delegated the responsibility by the City Manager. The minutes shall include the following:
1. The date, time, and place of the meeting.
2. The members of the public body recorded as either present or absent; and
3. A summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided by the members of the public body.
4. A record of any votes taken at the meeting.
B. Completion Of Minutes; Availability to Public: The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available for public inspection within seven (7) days of the approval of such minutes by the public body.
C. Contents:
1. Minutes shall generally consist of a record of what took place at the meeting. They should contain enough information to provide an adequate, official record of the proceedings. The City Clerk of the meeting shall attempt to prepare minutes in such a manner that anyone reading them a year or more in the future will understand the substance of the items discussed and the actions taken.
2. Speeches, discussion, or statements shall not be copied into the minutes except in the following instances:
a. Where Council or rules of the public body provide for statements explaining the vote.
b. Where Council may so order in exceptional cases.
c. Where such information is necessary to understand what took place at the meeting.
d. Important documents discussed in the minutes may be appended to them.
D. Closed Session Minutes:
1. Minutes of the closed session (executive session) will be a verbatim record in the form of an audio or video recording. The record will reflect:
a. The date, time, and place of the meeting.
b. The members of the public body recorded as either present or absent.
c. A summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided by the members of the public body.
d. At the end of the closed session, a member will move for adjournment, including the time.
2. The City Clerk or their designee will attend all closed sessions of the City Council and record the minutes thereof. The minutes must contain a complete, truthful, and legal record of the proceedings of the executive session.
E. Closed Session Confidentiality: From time to time, in accordance with the Illinois Open meetings Act, the City council may enter into closed session. In such case, any subject matter committed to closed session shall be confidential. No disclosure of any discussion held, or any decision made in closed session shall be made until publicized by announcement, publication, or official action by or at the direction of the City Council. A violation of this section by any member of the City Council or city employee shall be considered a breach of the member, officer, or employee’s fiduciary duty to the city. Any individual found by the City Council to be in violation of this section may either be terminated, disciplined, censured, or reported to the Jo Daviess State’s Attorney for consideration of misconduct charges under the Illinois Criminal Code or the Illinois Municipal Code.
F. Procedures For Use of Tape Recordings:
1. The words “City Council” refer to the East Dubuque City Council as well as all boards, commissions or committees duly appointed by the City Council.
2. The official record of all City Council meetings is the written record as prepared by the City Clerk and as approved by the City Council in open meeting.
3. The official minutes of all City Council meetings are prepared from the notes taken by the City Clerk at the open meeting of the duly elected body.
4. Tape recordings of the City Council meeting may be used to provide a means to ensure that the written minutes, prepared from the notes and other material received at the meeting, are complete.
5. Any tapes used in the preparation of the Council minutes will be retained until the minutes of the meeting are approved by the City Council. Once the minutes are approved, the tapes will be erased.
6. The verbatim recording of executive session may be destroyed no less than eighteen (18) months after the completion of the meeting recorded, but only after:
a. The public body approves the destruction of a particular recording; and
b. The public body approves minutes of the closed meeting that meet the written minutes requirements of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
7. Prior to the approval of the written minutes by the City Council, any person who wishes to review the tape recording of the meeting can do so under procedures established by the City Council.
8. Any person wishing to record a meeting of the City Council by mechanical means may do so under procedures established by the City Council. (Ord. 04-0108, 1-5-2004; amd. Ord. 09-0906, 9-8-2009; Ord. 22-035, 4-11-2022; Ord. 23-0814, 8-21-2023)