If the following article seems familiar it is because it is. Every Year The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Michigan publishes an an easy to read guide detailing you rights under the The Michigan Open Meetings Act or OMÅ for short.
Why should you care ? Because not caring can cost you money when f you finally find out what your local government is up to.
You the tax paying Citizen of the State of Michigan have no obligations under OMA. You don't have to go to meetings or read articles such as this. Or even vote.
If someone or something is taking you for a ride however it is usually better to find out sooner rather than later however and that is why the State Attorney General's office publishes a thirty page document describing what your local government must to do keep you informed.
While OMA affirms your right to attend almost all meetings of a governing body. It mandates that through promulgated and published minutes made available in a timely manner the governing body bring the meeting to it's constituents.
What per OMA must be in the minutes ? – at a minimum, the minutes must show the date, time, place,
members present, members absent, any decisions made at a meeting open to the public, and the
purpose or purposes for which a closed session is held. The minutes must include all roll call
votes taken at the meeting.The OMA does not prohibit a public body from preparing a more
detailed set of minutes of its public meetings if it chooses to do so.
When must the minutes be available – proposed minutes or draft minutes must be made available for public inspection within eight days after the applicable meeting. Approved minutes must be made available for public inspection within five days after the public body's approval.
When must the minutes be approved – at the board's next meeting. Corrected minutes must show both the original entry and the correction (for example, using a ("strikethrough" word processing feature).
Proposed minutes are draft minutes. They contain the nitty gritty of what City Commissioners attended the meeting, what was discussed and the results of any vote taken at the meeting in roll call fashion. Per OMA draft minutes must be made available for public inspection eight days after applicable meeting.
In other words if our City Commission meets on Tuesday the draft of proposed minutes as recorded by the City Clerk are must be available for public inspection by the following Tuesday.
This can be accomplished by simply posting them on a tack board in the lobby of City Hall.
At the following commission meeting City Commission can approve the minutes as submitted (normal course of events) or suggest revisions (Rare occurrence) Usually the minutes are approved as is, in the consent agenda of the next meetings.
Per OMA residents have five days to inspect the the approved minutes.
The point of making draft minutes available for inspection by residents is that keeps them current with their government which is the goal of the Open Meetings Act.
The City of Bloomfield Hills
When must the minutes be available – proposed minutes or draft minutes must be made available for public inspection within eight days after the applicable meeting. Approved minutes must be made available for public inspection within five days after the public body's approval.
When must the minutes be approved – at the board's next meeting. Corrected minutes must show both the original entry and the correction (for example, using a ("strikethrough" word processing feature).
Proposed minutes are draft minutes. They contain the nitty gritty of what City Commissioners attended the meeting, what was discussed and the results of any vote taken at the meeting in roll call fashion. Per OMA draft minutes must be made available for public inspection eight days after applicable meeting.
In other words if our City Commission meets on Tuesday the draft of proposed minutes as recorded by the City Clerk are must be available for public inspection by the following Tuesday.
This can be accomplished by simply posting them on a tack board in the lobby of City Hall.
At the following commission meeting City Commission can approve the minutes as submitted (normal course of events) or suggest revisions (Rare occurrence) Usually the minutes are approved as is, in the consent agenda of the next meetings.
Per OMA residents have five days to inspect the the approved minutes.
The point of making draft minutes available for inspection by residents is that keeps them current with their government which is the goal of the Open Meetings Act.
The City of Bloomfield Hills
Welcome to Documents-On-Demand
To better serve the residents of Bloomfield Hills, we have created a searching tool that will allow you to view AGENDAS and MINUTES of City Commission, the Planning Commission, and the Zoning Board of Appeals. Not only will you be able to look at the current meeting information but you will be able to search past meetings for specific meeting detail. Meeting Minutes will be posted once they are approved by the Council Board
The above appears on the Bloomfield Hills Web site City Web site. It is not in keeping with OMA because It restricts draft minutes to City Officials who already the know what was discussed the month prior and with diminished input from from residents may be the same thing discussed this month allowing for the promotion of private agendas at the expense of public ones.
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