Township Board Meetings

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Township Board Meetings

• Board Minutes Procedures/Rules
• Minutes, Audio Video Retention
• Recommended Minutes Format vs. Verbatim Minutes
• Public Comment, Rights Privileges

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Minutes

• Open Meetings Act
• MCL 15.269 sec.9
• Public Bodies shall keep minutes of each meeting
  showing
• Date, Time, Place,
• Members Present, Members Absent,
• Decisions made at the open meeting Roll Call
  Votes taken.

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A Piece of Municipal Clerk WisdomThe Blind Men
and the ElephantJohn Godfrey Saxes version of
the famous Indian Legend

• Six blind men went to see the elephant to satisfy
  their minds.
• The First approached the elephant, fell against
  its broad sturdy side pronounced it to be
  very like a wall.
• The Second man felt the tusk, finding it to be
  round, smooth sharp, pronounced it very much
  like a spear.

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A Piece of Municipal Clerk WisdomThe Blind Men
and the ElephantJohn Godfrey Saxes version of
the famous Indian LegendContinued

• The Third man happened to take the squirming
  trunk, and announced the elephant to be very
  like a snake.
• The Fourth, felt about the knee and announced the
  beast is very like a tree.
• The Fifth man by chance touched the elephants
  ear and marveled that it was very like a fan.

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A Piece of Municipal Clerk Wisdom The Blind Men
and the ElephantJohn Godfrey Saxes version of
the famous Indian LegendContinued

• The Sixth, began to grope the beast having
  seized its swinging tail, pronounced it to be
  very like a rope.
• The men disputed loud and strong, each one
  certain they were right, and yet they all were
  wrong.
• The Moral of this tale
• A reminder that people dont always see or
  remember things the same way, and their
  statements may not provide a complete or accurate
  record of what happened.

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A Piece of Municipal Clerk Wisdom The Blind
Men and the ElephantJohn Godfrey Saxes version
of the famous Indian Legend

• The minutes of a public meeting should provide a
  factual, concise record of the actions taken by
  the public body, not a verbatim report of
  comments made.
• Reprised from Taking Township Minutes
• Michigan Townships Association,
• December, 2008 MTA Conference

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Meeting Notes-Audio or Video Recordings

• State of Michigan Records Retention Schedule
• 25 - Township Clerks
• Notes, Audio or Visual recordings of meetings of
  a township body made for the purpose of
  transcribing the Minutes may be destroyed after
  the meeting at which the Minutes are approved by
  the public body. (MCL 15.269)

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Meeting Notes-Audio or Video RecordingsState
of Michigan Records RetentionGeneral Schedule
10 (MCL399.5)

• Minutes (Approved) are Permanent Records.
• Minutes (handwritten for transcription) retained
  until approval of the minutes of the meeting to
  which they refer.
• Audio or Video recordings of meetings are
  retained until approval of the written minutes of
  the meeting to which the tapes refer.

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Grosse Ile TownshipAdministrative Policies
Procedures

• 2.4 (4) Minutes
• The Clerk shall be responsible for maintaining
  the official record and minutes of each meeting
  of the Board, for presenting these to the Board
  for approval, for publication of the minutes, and
  for making such records available to the public
  in strict conformance with the Freedom of
  Information Open Meetings Acts.

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Grosse Ile TownshipAdministrative Policies
Procedures

• 2.4 (5) Electronic Broadcast
• Per Section 6.8, all regular board meetings
  shall be broadcast either live or by delayed
  video tape over the Township municipal access
  cable channel. Video taped copies of meetings
  can be requested through the Clerks office
  within ten (10) business days following the
  meeting due to the reuse of the tapes.

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Meeting Agendas MinutesMichigan Townships
Association Guidelinesfrom An Introduction to
Township Board Meetings

• Draft Agenda prepared in advance, sent to
  management Board for review prior to
  publication.
• Agenda sent to board members so they can be
  prepared for the meeting. Items may be added or
  deleted prior to approval.
• Approved by the board at the meeting.

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Meeting Agendas MinutesMichigan Townships
Association Guidelinesfrom An Introduction to
Township Board Meetings

• Board members should review the Minutes of the
  previous meeting before voting to approve them.
• Note Our meeting packets including the Minutes
  for approval are provided to the Board on Friday
  before the meeting for review, questions and any
  additional preparation.

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Public Comment Regular Special MeetingsOpen
Meetings Act

• Public body may establish reasonable rules in
  order to minimize the possibility of disrupting
  the meeting (MCL 15.263)
• Townships should establish rules to determine how
  they will conduct business at board meetings.
  (MCL 42.7 (6)) Township Policies/Procedures 2.4
• Public has the right to attend watch the board
  do its business.

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Public Comment Regular Special Meetings Open
Meetings Act - Continued

• Public does not have a right to participate in
  deliberations or decisions of a township board,
  although the board may always choose to
  encourage and consider public input.
• Public has a LIMITED right to participate through
  the Open Meetings Act, in Public Comment
  period.

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Public Comment Regular Special MeetingsOpen
Meetings Act - Continued

• A person shall be permitted to address the public
  body under rules established recorded by the
  public body. (MCL 15.263)
• Only one (1) public comment period is required by
  law. A township board may choose to provide
  additional opportunities to speak during its
  meetings. (MCL 15.263)

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Public Comment Regular Special MeetingsOpen
Meetings Act - Continued

• A person shall be permitted to address a meeting
  of the public body under the established rules, a
  person shall not be excluded from a public
  meeting except for breach of the peace at the
  meeting.
• From Michigan Municipal League Requirements for
  Meetings, March 2006

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Public Comment Regular Special MeetingsOpen
Meetings Act - Continued

• Township Policies/Procedures 2.4
• Allows for two specific Public Comment areas, as
  well as during each action discussion item
  following board discussion.
• A Trial Amendment is currently invoked
  limiting Public Comment to once at the end of the
  meeting and after each action or discussion item.

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Township Board Training

• November 13, 2008
• Clerks Welcome A-Board e-mail to the Board
• You all have received your MTA Guides to
  Township Government explaining the myriad duties
  we each are to perform.
• The most important impression I can offer to
  you at the beginning of this, our joint
  adventure, is that we will ultimately develop a
  family dynamic. We can choose to be
  dysfunctional, or we can choose to be cooperative
  and the fate of our community for the next four
  years rests with that choice.

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Materials Provided to the New Board

• An Introduction to Township Board Meetings
  Michigan Townships Assoc.
• Authorities Responsibilities of Michigan
  Township Officials, Boards and Commissions Red
  Book
• Township Policies Procedures Manual and
  Management Employee Handbook

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Materials Provided to the New Board

• A similar Manual covering the duties of the
  office of the Clerk, Treasurer and the Trustees
  was distributed to the new board after the
  election and before taking office

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• THE NEXT FIVE SLIDES
• ARE SEMINARS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE
• AVAILABLE TO ALL BOARD MEMBERS
• SINCE TAKING OFFICE
• Some Board Members have attended some of these
  seminars

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Recent Seminar Offerings

• MTA On The Road, Fall Regional Meeting, October
  7, 2009
• Delinquent Personal Property
• When Are You Going to do Something about These
  Roads
• Is Your Township Liable
• Managing the Modern Township Office
• Attended by Treasurer Van Os
• Trustee Kantz
• Trustee Johnson