HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-21 Establishing a Public Meeting Records Policy and Repealing Resolution 2026-20 RESOLUTION NO. 2026-21
A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC MEETING RECORDS
POLICY GOVERNING THE RECORDING, OWNERSHIP, RETENTION, AND
PUBLIC ACCESS OF VIDEO RECORDINGS OF ALL PUBLIC
MEETINGS AND WRITTEN MINUTES STANDARDS AND REPEALING
RESOLUTION 2026-20
RECITALS:
A. Oregon's Public Meetings Law, ORS 192.610 through 192.690,requires public bodies to make
their deliberations and decisions available to the public, and ORS 192.650 requires that governing
bodies provide for video or written recording of all their meetings, with such recordings made
available to the public within a reasonable time after each meeting.
B.The Oregon Secretary of State's City General Records Retention Schedule,OAR 166-200-0235,
requires permanent retention of written meeting minutes but sets only a minimum one-year
retention period for audio or visual recordings after minutes are prepared and approved. The City
Council finds that video recordings deserve the same permanent retention applied to written
minutes.
C. On June 16, 2026, City Council adopted Resolution 2026-20 establishing a comprehensive
Public Meeting Records Policy governing the recording, ownership, retention, and public
accessibility of all video recordings of City public meetings.
D.The City Council finds it necessary and in the public interest to further refine the Public Meeting
Records Policy to improve clarity and applicability.
THE CITY OF ASHLAND HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Purpose and Policy Statement. The City of Ashland declares that transparent,
accessible, and permanently preserved records of all public meetings are essential to democratic
self-governance and public trust. Video recordings of City public meetings are official public
records owned by the City of Ashland in perpetuity. Citizens shall have permanent access to video
recordings of their government's deliberations through the City's website.
SECTION 2. Recording Requirements.
2.1 Governing Body Meetings — All regular, special, , and study session meetings of the
Ashland City Council, Ashland Park Commission, Planning Commission, Municipal Audit
Committee, and Citizens'Budget Committee shall be captured by video recording.
2.2 Advisory Body Meetings—All meetings subject to Oregon's Public Meetings Law of any
City standing advisory committee, ad hoe committee, subcommittee, or other City body with
authority to make recommendations on policy shall be captured by video recording. The
assigned staff liaison or other designated individual is responsible for initiating and completing
the recording.
2.3 Recording shall begin prior to the call to order and continue through adjournment.
Resolution 2026-21 Pagel of
2.4 Government Body Meetings or Advisory Body Meetings that do not involve deliberation
or decision making, but may require public noticing — such as off-site trainings, tours or
conferences—are exempt from video recording requirements.
SECTION 3. Ownership of Recordings. All video recordings of City public meetings, whether
produced by City staff, contractor,or by any other means,are owned by the City in perpetuity.No
contract or arrangement shall convey copyright or any intellectual property interest in such
recordings to any party other than the City.
SECTION 4.Retention and Archival Storage.All video recordings of public meetings shall be
retained permanently as public records. The City's retention schedule for video recordings is
hereby set at permanent. All recordings shall be stored in City-controlled storage meeting the
City's business continuity and disaster recovery standards..
SECTION 5.Public Accessibility.
5.1 All recordings shall be made available to the public through the City's website within 2
business days of the conclusion of a Governing Body Meeting and within 5 business days of
the conclusion of an Advisory Body Meeting.
5.2 No recording of a public meeting shall be removed from public access except pursuant to
a specific legal requirement. The City may post recordings to third-party platforms for public
convenience,but shall not rely on any third-party platform as its primary or archival repository.
SECTION 6. Written Minutes Standards. Written minutes remain required for all public
meetings as the official record, consistent with ORS 192.650.Video recordings supplement but do
not replace written minutes. For City Council and Ashland Park Commission meetings, minutes
shall include a clearly marked notation for each action or direction adopted identifying the specific
decision as a distinct element separate from the general discussion summary. Any staff report
implementing a prior Council or Ashland Park Commission direction shall quote that direction
from the adopted minutes.
SECTION 7. Implementation. The City Manager shall develop administrative procedures to
include updating the Commission and Committee Handbook for implementation of this Resolution
within 90 days of its effective date. The Information Technology department shall develop or
update the City's recording storage and BCDR plan within 90 days of the effective date.
SECTION 8. Resolution No. 2026-20 is hereby repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 9.Effective Date.This Resolution shall take effect upon adoption by the City Council.
This resolution was duly PASSED and ADOPTED this _i_ day of kuo 111IJ
, 2026,
and takes effect upon signin by the Mayor.
Alissa o odAnski, City Recorder
Resolution 2026-21 Page 2 of 3
SIGNED and APPROVED this day of , 2026.
L'�A'w'� U
Tonya G ham, Mayor
City of Ashland, Oregon
Reviewe s t fot
a ietila, C' orney
Resolution 2026-21 Page 3 of 3