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Resolution No. 2021-95 Public Mtgs. Minutes Policy Guide Resolution No. 2021-95 Adopting a Public Meetings Minutes Policy and Style Guide for the City of Fridley Whereas, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 15.17 and Chapter No. 3 of the Fridley City Charter, the City of Fridley (City) must create and maintain full and accurate records of the proceedings of the Fridley City Council and its applicable advisory commissions; and Whereas, meeting minutes preserve the actions and records necessary to fulfill this statutory requirement; and Whereas, meeting minutes are a permanent record pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act; and Whereas, to create a consistent style and format of meeting minutes the City Manager directed staff to draft a Public Meetings Minutes Policy and Style Guide, attached hereto as Exhibit A; and Whereas, on September 27, 2021, the City Council (Council) reviewed the proposed Policy and guided staff to present a resolution for their consideration at a future City Council meeting; and Whereas, the Secretary of the Council informed the City of their upcoming retirement; and Whereas, pursuant to the Fridley City Charter Section 3.02, the Council must appoint a new Secretary to the Council. Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the City Council of the City of Fridley hereby approves the Public Meetings Minutes Policy and Style Guide, attached hereto as Exhibit A, effective January 1, 2022. Be it further resolved, that the City Council hereby appoints Melissa Moore, City Clerk, as the Secretary to the Council. th Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Fridley this 11 day of October, 2021. _______________________________________ Scott J. Lund – Mayor Attest: Melissa Moore – City Clerk Exhibit A PUBLIC MEETINGS MINUTES POLICY AND STYLE GUIDE Introduction The purpose of this Public Meetings Minutes Policy and Style Guide (Guide) is to establish and maintain a consistent style of writing for meeting minutes. This Guide will help staff establish a consistent and standardized style to provide uniformity and clarity for all legislative bodies of the City of Fridley (City). Meeting minutes for the City Council (Council) and advisory commissions are required pursuant to Minnesota Statute § 15.17, subdivision 1 to provide a permanent, legal record of what actions occurred at a meeting and facilitate the identification and tracking of such actions. The City shall retain Council and advisory commission minutes on a permanent basis pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Format and Structure City minutes are a permanent record of actions taken at a meeting, not a record of each statement that was made by those attending. The goal of minutes is to serve as a clear record of actions taken by the City Council or advisory commissions. They are not to be a transcription of dialogue. Agenda Management System City agendas are built using an agenda management system that allows staff to collaborate on items that go before the Council or advisory commissions. Such a system will generate a template using each agenda, to ensures all meeting minute documents are uniform in layout and formatting. Summary Minutes All minutes for the Council and advisory commissions shall be summary minutes. Summary minutes include a summarization of the key points of discussion and must always include:  name of who made and seconded a motion;  vital components of discussion among the body, or attendees;  the final disposition of the item (passed, failed, or continued); and  results of a voice call vote or roll call vote if the meeting was hybrid/virtual. Summary minutes should not include:  a motion that died from lack of a second;  withdrawn motions;  personal opinions, or verbatim recording of dialogue;  detailed public input; or  bias, prejudice or opinion of the Recording Secretary. PUBLIC MEETINGS MINUTES POLICY AND STYLE GUIDE Closed Meetings, Conference Meetings and Special Meetings Conference Meetings are meetings of the Council pre-established to discuss certain topics. They are open to the public and require minutes to be prepared and filed. Special Meetings of the Council may be held throughout the year and require a three-day notice period. They are open to the public and require minutes to be prepared and filed. Closed meetings of the Council require a three-day notice period and require minutes to be prepared and filed. The minutes of closed meetings of the Council shall only reflect the date, time, and location of the meeting, those who were in attendance, the topic of discussion and the time of adjournment. Style Consistency Minutes for all City meetings shall follow preferences of The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook. A helpful reference for AP style may be found here. Layout The minutes must always include the following information: date, time, place, members present, members absent, the purpose(s) for which the meeting was held, any decisions that were made, all roll call votes and the time of adjournment. Using the minutes document from the City’s agenda management system, Recording Secretaries shall use that document to complete the meeting minutes, entering any decisions that were made, dialogue that is critical to the decision and a record of all votes. Font and Typography The official font for City communications is Segoe UI font, 11 point. Motions All motions with a second must be recorded in the minutes. The record of each motion must include the name of the person making the motion, and the name of the person making the second. Voting When a motion receives a second, the minutes shall reflect that a voice call vote occurred. A roll call vote is only required if the meeting is virtual, hybrid, or a member of the body calls for a roll call vote. If a roll call vote occurs, member names must be listed with an indication of how they voted. Figures Occasionally there may be images, graphs, tables or other figures that are discussed during a meeting. These items may be inserted into the minutes document as a figure if that figure greatly PUBLIC MEETINGS MINUTES POLICY AND STYLE GUIDE enhances the clarity of the conversation. The figure must be referenced in the minutes and clearly labeled. Signatures All minutes must document who the Recording Secretary was for each set of minutes. Council minutes shall be signed by the Mayor. Advisory commission agendas do not require signatures. Digital signatures are allowed. Retention Pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, meeting minutes of the Council and advisory commissions are a permanent record. All approved minutes shall be retained in the archiving software or records repository of the City. Meeting Recordings The City shall retain audio recordings of Council and advisory commission meetings for a period of 20 years. If the need arises for a meeting to be transcribed, the City Clerk will hire a Recording Secretary to provide a verbatim transcription of the meeting. Supplemental Presentations and Materials Presentations given during City Council meetings on the Regular Agenda shall be retained for a period of five years and filed on the City’s website (https://fridleymn.gov/214/City-Council-and- Commissions). Recording Secretaries Section 3.02 of the Fridley City Charter directs that the Council shall appoint a Secretary to prepare minutes of its proceedings. The Secretary may contract with an external entity to perform such duties related to creating meeting minutes for the City, subject to the approval of the City Manager or their designee. Questions If you have questions about the information shared in this Guide, please contact the City Clerk.