1. Commissioner Minutes Mary Lou Hansen, Teton County Clerk
Jim McNall, ICRMP Risk Management Specialist

2. The Bare Necessities Names of all Commissioners present
All motions, resolutions, orders, ordinances and their disposition
The results of all votes and, upon request of a member, the vote of each member by name

3. Content Place Agenda on page 1 of minutes Start and end times
Minutes should be expanded version of Agenda
Start and end times
List complete names of Commissioners present
- What about the names of others present?
Signature blocks for Board Chair and Clerk
Header/footer on every page:
- Name of Board, date of meeting, Page number (best to use “Page 2 of 7”)

4. Content Condense discussions by consolidating/summarizing comments
- Main points/range of opinion
- Questions answered
- Concerns raised/answered
Use unbiased judgement to decide what’s important to included/exclude
Remember that Minutes are County’s historical record

5. Content Include all motions/decisions Include significant action items
No need to report verbatim discussions
Places undue attention on personalities
Disincentive to free exchange of ideas
Tedious to read, minutes not useful
Take too long to write

6. Example
Solid Waste Supervisor Saul Varela said that oil-based paint, anti-freeze, agricultural herbicides and pesticides, and other materials are considered hazardous waste because they are corrosive and toxic to humans. He said those types of materials cannot be accepted at the transfer station. Solid Waste Supervisor Saul Varela described concerns related to hazardous waste materials at the transfer station.

7. Open Mic Sessions Report very minimal info - Name & topic addressed
- “Susan Smith spoke about the public lands resolution”
NOT, “Susan Smith said the Board was crazy for even considering adoption of the public lands resolution and that her husband and neighbors agreed.”

8. Make Minutes User-Friendly
Format should make minutes easy to read & easy for public to find info of interest
Organize minutes to follow agenda, even if topics not discussed in order
Use bold headings to align with each agenda topic
Use symbol or formatting to make motions easy to spot
Names: Use first name, last name and title for first reference, simplify for subsequent references
Abbreviations: Avoid unless common, use only after spelling out the first time, Teton Soil Conservation District (SCD) can become “SCD”

9. Motions Wording must be accurate, read back to Board if complicated
When must minutes list result of vote by name?
How should negative vote be documented?
Executive Session requires formal motion
Motion should include time and statutory reference/purpose for ES
Roll call vote required, okay to record vote: “Motion carried unanimously”
No motion to come out of ES, but minutes should reflect end time
Do not list names of those who participated in ES

10. Claims Minutes should include summary of dollar amount per fund
Attach detailed claims report to minutes?
Include payroll checks in detailed list or fund summary?

11. Attachments Documents approved by Board motion
Resolutions, Ordinances
Contracts, Letters
Other documents referenced in minutes
- Memos from staff
- Documents related to planning decision

12. Agendas Should agenda list specific times?
-Balancing act between putting times on agenda to help public
and not wasting Board’s time
Must list every item requiring Board decision
Decision must be reflected in formal motion
“The Board decided . . .” is not a valid decision
Decisions made about items not on agenda are not valid

13. Publishing Minutes
Idaho Code Publication of proceedings. To cause to be published monthly such statement as will clearly give notice to the public of all its acts and proceedings, and, shall include a brief financial summary indicating the total amount spent from each county fund during the month . . .

14. Publishing Minutes
Idaho Code   Publication of notices -- Number of publications required. Whenever any law of this state requires publication of any notice or proceeding, said requirement shall be satisfied by publishing the same once each calendar week on the same day of each week for the number of times equal to the number of weeks mentioned in the requirement in any regular issue of a newspaper published on one or more days of each week . . .

15. Publishing Minutes: possible statute change?
  Publication of notices -- Number of publications required. Whenever any law of this state requires publication of any notice or proceeding, said requirement shall be satisfied by publishing the same once each calendar week on the same day of each week for the number of times equal to the number of weeks mentioned in the requirement in any regular issue of a newspaper published on one or more days of each week . . .
On the County’s official website

16. Publishing Minutes: possible statute change?
Idaho Code   Publication of proceedings. To cause to be published monthly such statement as will clearly give notice to the public of all its acts and proceedings, and, shall include a brief financial summary indicating the total amount spent from each county fund during the month Proceedings published on the County’s official website shall satisfy the requirements of this section.