A. A verbatim record shall be kept of all meetings of the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth or any subsidiary "public body" (as defined by the Illinois Open Meetings Act) of the Village which are closed to the public. The verbatim record shall be in the form of an audio or video recording. In addition, minutes shall be kept of all closed meetings in the manner required by the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Minutes of closed meetings shall be placed before the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth or the subsidiary body, as the case may be, for approval as to form and content as soon as practicable following the closed meeting. The Village Clerk, or his/her designee, shall securely maintain the verbatim recordings and minutes of all closed sessions of the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth and all subsidiary public bodies of the Village.
B. At the beginning of each closed session, those present shall identify themselves by voice for the audio recording. If the meeting is videotaped, at the beginning of the meeting, those present shall individually appear on camera and identify themselves by voice. The President or Chair of the subsidiary public body of the Village shall also announce the times the meeting commences and ends at the appropriate points on the recording.
C. The Village will maintain sufficient tapes, batteries and equipment for the Village to comply with this section. The Village Clerk or her designee will periodically check the equipment to confirm that it is functioning. In the event that anyone present at a closed session determines that the equipment is not functioning properly, the closed session will be temporarily suspended to attempt to correct any malfunction. In the event that an equipment malfunction cannot be corrected immediately, the closed session will terminate until such time as the closed session may proceed with a functioning recording device.
D. At the first regular Board meeting of the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth in August 2004, and of each February and August thereafter, the agenda shall include the following item: "Review of the minutes of all closed sessions that have not yet been released for public review, and determination of which, if any, may then be released." Minutes or recordings shall not be released unless the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth find that it is no longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy of an individual by keeping them confidential. As to any minutes or recordings not released, the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth shall find that the "need for confidentiality still exists" as to those minutes or recordings. The Village Attorney shall prepare a recommendation for the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth regarding the release and nonrelease of the respective recordings and minutes. Minutes of closed sessions shall be kept indefinitely.
E. At the first regular Board meeting of the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth in August 2004, and of each February and August thereafter, the agenda shall include the following item: "Authorization for destruction of verbatim recordings of closed sessions". The Village Clerk shall present a list to the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth of the dates of closed sessions where:
1. A verbatim recording exists;
2. The Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth have approved the minutes of the closed meeting as to form, regardless of whether the minutes have been released for public review; and
3. There have been more than eighteen (18) months since the date of the closed meeting.
F. The Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth shall consider whether to authorize destruction of the verbatim recordings of those meetings. When ordered by the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Worth, the Village Clerk shall destroy the recording of that closed meeting in a suitable manner. (Ord. 2014-28, 8-19-2014)