(A) (1) The formation of public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret. Every meeting of a public body shall be open to the public in order that citizens may exercise their democratic privilege of attending and speaking at meetings of public bodies, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of Nebraska, federal statutes, and the Open Meetings Act.
(Neb. RS 84-1408)
(2) All public meetings as defined by law shall be held in a municipal public building which shall be open to attendance by the public. All meetings shall be held in the public building in which the governing body usually holds such meetings unless the publicized notice required by this section designates some other public building or other specified place.
(B) (1) Each public body shall give reasonable advance publicized notice of the time and place of each meeting as provided in division (B)(2) of this section. The notice shall be transmitted to all members of the public body and to the public.
(2) The notice shall be published by:
(a) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the public body's jurisdiction and, if available, on such newspaper's website; or
(b) Posting written notice in three conspicuous public places in the village. The notice shall be posted in the same three places for each meeting.
(3) In addition to a method of notice required by division (B)(2) of this section, the notice shall also be provided by any other appropriate method designated by the public body.
(4) Each public body shall record the methods and dates of the notice in its minutes.
(5) The notice shall contain an agenda of subjects known at the time of the publicized notice or a statement that the agenda, which shall be kept continually current, is readily available for public inspection at the office of the public body during normal business hours. Agenda items shall be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. Except for items of an emergency nature, the agenda shall not be altered later than 24 hours before the scheduled commencement of the meeting or 48 hours before the scheduled commencement of a meeting of the Board of Trustees scheduled outside the corporate limits of the village. The public body shall have the right to modify the agenda to include items of an emergency nature only at such public meeting.
(Neb. RS 84-1411)
(C) The minutes of the Municipal Clerk shall include the record of the manner and advance time by which the advance publicized notice was given, a statement of how the availability of an agenda of the then known subjects was communicated, the time and specific place of the meetings, the names of each member of the governing body present or absent at each convened meeting, and the substance of all matters discussed. The minutes of the governing body shall be a public record open to inspection by the public upon request at any reasonable time at the office of the Municipal Clerk.
(`75 Code, § 1-503) (Am. Ord. 182, passed 4-3-84; Am. Ord. 247, passed 3-1-88; Am. Ord. 633, passed 2-9-21)
Statutory reference:
Meetings required to be public, Neb. RS 84-1408
Definitions, Neb. RS 84-1409
Notice, agenda, and the like, Neb. RS 84-1411
Minutes, roll call, secret ballot, Neb. RS 84-1413
Cross-reference:
Official actions; votes, § 30.21