VCOG answers questions submitted through its Web site
As a member of our town planning commission, I would like to know if state law requires that we take minutes of our work sessions. We currently have minutes of our public meetings recorded and printed, as well as having these meetings on public television. As some of our work sessions run quite long and we are currently having our secretary there to record them by tape, I question if this is required.
Yes, you must take minutes during your work sessions.
FOIA’s rules for meetings apply to ALL public bodies, and all types of meetings. The definition of “meetings” in § 2.2-3701 specifically includes “work sessions.”
FOIA says that minutes must be taken at all meetings, and those minutes at a minimum must include “(i) the date, time, and location of the meeting; (ii) the members of the public body recorded as present and absent; and (iii) a summary of the discussion on matters proposed, deliberated or decided, and a record of any votes taken.”
The 2009 General Assembly passed a bill that clarified that minutes must be in writing. Further, the FOI Advisory Council issued an opinion before the bill went into effect July 1 that said there is a presumption that minutes be in writing.
Of course, you or any other board can record the meetings, too. You can then use the recordings to create your written minutes in whatever form you choose. Draft minutes and final minutes are both considered public records, but unlike the rules for state agencies, localities are not under any kind of time deadline for finalizing their minutes.