(A) The City Clerk shall keep a verbatim record of all closed or executive session meetings of the corporate authorities of the city or any subsidiary "public body," as defined by the Illinois Open Meetings Act, ILCS Chapter 5, Act 120, §§ 1 et seq. The verbatim record shall be in the form of an audio or video recording as determined by the Mayor and City Council.
(B) The City Clerk shall be responsible for recording the closed or executive sessions. In the absence of the City Clerk, the meeting Chair will arrange for the recording of the closed or executive session. The City Clerk shall maintain the verbatim recordings of all closed sessions of the City Council and all subsidiary public bodies of the city.
(C) In addition to the recordings of the closed or executive sessions, the City Clerk shall keep minutes of all closed meetings in accordance with the Open Meetings Act, ILCS Chapter 5, Act 120, §§ 1 et seq.
(D) Review of closed or executive session minutes must be completed every six months. Minutes shall be reviewed in closed or executive session and shall not be released unless the City Council finds that it is no longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy of an individual by keeping it confidential. Minutes of closed or executive sessions shall be kept indefinitely.
(E) The audio recordings of closed or executive sessions shall be maintained for 18 months after the closed or executive session occurred and shall not be released to the public unless such a release is required by a court order or specifically authorized for release by a vote of the City Council. Members of the City Council may listen to the closed or executive session recordings in the presence of the City Clerk. Copies of such recordings will not be made or provided to anyone unless specifically authorized by the City Council.
(F) The City Clerk is hereby authorized to destroy the audio and video recordings of those closed sessions for which:
(1) The City Council have approved the minutes of the closed or executive sessions whether the minutes have been released or not;
(2) More than 18 months have passed since the date of the closed or executive session;
(3) There is no court order requiring the preservation of such recordings; and
(4) The City Council has not passed a motion requiring the preservation of the verbatim recording of that meeting.
(Ord. 2013-12, passed 9-16-2013)