LOPSA Policies/Minutes dissemination
Minutes dissemination
Policy approved by the Board on 22 August 2005.
Purpose and scope
To promote organizational transparency and Board-Member communications, the minutes of Board and certain other meetings shall be made available for public examination in a timely manner, while protecting sensitive and confidential information as necessary.
This Policy shall pertain to the meeting minutes of a) the Board of Directors; and b) other special meetings, hearings, committees, subcommittees, teams, working groups, and commissions as the Board directs. The term body shall be used below to refer to any such group.
Policy statement
Draft minutes shall be circulated to the members of a body as soon as possible after a meeting's adjournment. Members of a body shall have at least five days to review draft minutes before they are approved. Minutes approval shall be on the agenda of the earliest possible meeting at least five days after draft minutes have been circulated. Members of a body shall have the opportunity to amend draft minutes, subject to the body's approval, before the draft minutes are approved.
Redactions
The default is for minutes to be disseminated in unredacted form. Redactions shall not be considered until draft minutes are approved.
Redactions may be used:
- To protect information that has business sensitivity (e.g., negotiating positions).
- When a third party's name is used without the third party's knowledge (e.g., discussion of candidates for a volunteer position or award).
- To protect the subject of personnel discussions.
Redactions shall not be used to prevent embarassment on the part of the body or its members or to obscure error.
Once draft minutes are approved, any member of a body may place approved minutes on hold for redaction during the same meeting. The hold shall be minuted with the member's name. Once a hold has been placed on approved minutes, members of a body shall have at least five days to suggest redactions.
Redactions are not a matter of personal privilege; redactions must be approved by the entire body. Approval of redactions shall be on the agenda of the earliest possible meeting at least five days after the hold was placed.
In the case of minutes redacted by bodies other than the Board of Directors, the Board shall be provided with unredacted minutes. The Board reserves the right to modify redactions of other bodies.
Prior redactions should be restored by the Board at a later date if the subject of the redaction is no longer sensitive.
Dissemination
Minutes shall be considered public minutes immediately following the meeting at which the draft is approved, provided no hold for redactions was placed. Redacted minutes shall be considered public minutes immediately following the meeting at which redactions are approved.
Public minutes shall be placed on the World Wide Web in a publicly-accessible form on a server controlled by the Association within 30 days of approval.
The location of public minutes shall remain stable over time and shall be publicized to the Association's membership at least once a year and any time the location changes. Public minutes shall not be blocked from indexing by search engines.