Let the Sunshine In
A reader recently posted this question here at the blog:
The act accomplishes this by requiring all public bodies to provide not less than 24 hours public notice of each meeting including the agenda, date, time, and place. In addition, each public body must publish its annual meeting schedule at least once each year.
"Public body" is defined as "any administrative, advisory, executive, or legislative body . . . [which] expends, disburses, or is supported in whole or in part by tax revenue; and is vested with the authority to make decisions regarding the public's business." This includes not only the city council, but also the finance committee, the planning commission, and all of the City's various volunteer boards and commissions such as the Arts Council, the Beautification Committee, or the Library Board.
This means that whether you have a general interest in how your tax dollars are spent, a local interest in how the vacant lot on the corner will be developed, or even a personal interest in, say, library collections, you are entitled to notice of any and all relevant meetings. What's more, you are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
This is heady stuff, people. This is what empowers our American vision of democracy. This is what it means to have a voice and a right to participate in government.
So, how to follow public notices now that there is no more American Fork Citizen? Three ways:
Legals can be expensive. I saw a recent city council notice which cost $239 to publish. One could question whether the expense is justified in a tight City budget, but the mayor has rightly decided that the City must value the seasoned judgment of seniors and others who continue to follow the print edition of the Herald.
I hope this information empowers more of my gentle readers to follow and attend City meetings. Remember what John Adams said: "The government ought to be what the people make it."
I have always been diligent about watching American Fork's issues as they used to be published in the Thurdsay American Fork Citizen's "public notices" section. Because that paper is no longer published, I feel like I have lost my connection to the issues coming before the city. Could you tell me where/when these public notices are published now? Also, would it be possible to simultaneously publish these notices on American Fork's website? It would be nice to provide a no-subscription-required access to these important notices anyway.Public notice is not just a good idea; it's the law. Utah's Open and Public Meetings Act states that the government exists to conduct the people's business and must therefore both take action openly and conduct its deliberations openly.
The act accomplishes this by requiring all public bodies to provide not less than 24 hours public notice of each meeting including the agenda, date, time, and place. In addition, each public body must publish its annual meeting schedule at least once each year.
"Public body" is defined as "any administrative, advisory, executive, or legislative body . . . [which] expends, disburses, or is supported in whole or in part by tax revenue; and is vested with the authority to make decisions regarding the public's business." This includes not only the city council, but also the finance committee, the planning commission, and all of the City's various volunteer boards and commissions such as the Arts Council, the Beautification Committee, or the Library Board.
This means that whether you have a general interest in how your tax dollars are spent, a local interest in how the vacant lot on the corner will be developed, or even a personal interest in, say, library collections, you are entitled to notice of any and all relevant meetings. What's more, you are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
This is heady stuff, people. This is what empowers our American vision of democracy. This is what it means to have a voice and a right to participate in government.
So, how to follow public notices now that there is no more American Fork Citizen? Three ways:
1. At the Utah Public Meeting Notice Web site. Go to this site, type in "American Fork" under "entity" at the search box, then click on "see results." You'll see several pages of results showing notices for each of the City's public bodies dating back to May 2008. Click on the name of any of these public bodies, and you'll be given an option to subscribe either via RSS feed or email.As of 2008, this is the only form of public notice required under Utah State code. However, American Fork City is committed to the principle of public notice and goes above and beyond the requirements of the law. Hence, notices may also be accessed --
Additionally, council meeting agendas only (because of expense) are published in the Daily Herald. The Open and Public Meetings Act states that public bodies must notify "at least one newspaper of general circulation within the geographic jurisdiction of the public body." American Fork now submits its notices to the Daily Herald, but as the law does not require the Herald to publish them, it generally does not do so unless the City pays for the service as a legal ad.2. Physically, on the bulletin board in the vestibule of the City administration building at 51 East Main.
3. Electronically at the City's Web site, though notices are harder to find here than at the Utah Public Meeting Notice site. For council meeting agendas, choose the quick link entitled "Minutes and Agendas," which is located on the left-hand side of the home page. For the planning commission, choose "Planning Commission" under the government tab, then look for the minutes and agendas link. Other City boards and commissions post their agendas on their own pages (access them through "Boards and Commissions"), but these are hit-and-miss.
Legals can be expensive. I saw a recent city council notice which cost $239 to publish. One could question whether the expense is justified in a tight City budget, but the mayor has rightly decided that the City must value the seasoned judgment of seniors and others who continue to follow the print edition of the Herald.
I hope this information empowers more of my gentle readers to follow and attend City meetings. Remember what John Adams said: "The government ought to be what the people make it."
posted by Heidi Rodeback at 2:48 PM
5 Comments:
Thanks Heidi for all of this fantastic information. I was not personally aware of the Utah Public Meeting Notice website. And at least until recently, the city website seldomly had updated information. It looks like things are better now.
The City Web site still leaves something to be desired. I noticed that it offers other paths to the public notices, but they don't all work. Best to stick with the avenues I listed -- and better still to use the Utah Public Meeting Notice site.
One thing that would make the notices a little more user friendly is to make sure that the city council agenda is published at the same time as the work session agenda.
Frequently the first item on the work session in discussion of items on the next city council agenda.
But since that agenda is not yet published, it is difficult for a citizen to know what you are disscussing.
Two weeks ago, I called to have the agenda read to me, to try to determine if I had to be to the work session right on time. (My item of interest was later on the agenda.)
Thanks for the post and the information.
I spoke with tbe city recorder about publishing council meeting agendas simultaneously with work session agendas. He said this is not usually feasible, as the two meetings are five days apart and the agendas are not usually determined simultaneously. While it's true that council members have a copy of the council meeting agenda by the time the work session begins, we almost never get it in advance of that moment. I do agree that it would be nice to have both published at once, as discussion occasionally goes beyond the question, "Do we have all the necessary information in our packets?" But as of now I don't see any way of making this happen.
Thanks for the explanation. I can understand the problem with posting both agendas at once.
If someone is interested in finding out what is on the city council agenda, they can call city hall and ask that the agenda be read to them prior to the work session.
When I did this, the staff was very courteous in giving me the information.
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