NWH: "Minutes of meetings sometimes vague"

That was the headline in today's Northwest Herald for the continuation on Page 9A of the front-page article on the Open Meetings Act.

Dorr Township resident (and attorney) Jane Collins and I have been nit-picking the Minutes of Dorr Township monthly meetings and asking that the Minutes reflect enough information that someone reading then ten years from now would have a good idea what happened.

An example of excellent public meeting minutes are those of the City of Woodstock. When you read the minutes of a semi-monthly City Council meeting, there is no doubt who said what and what happened at a meeting. The City Clerk, Meaghan Haak, takes notes during the meetings and tape-records the meetings. Then she prepares them accurately and professionally. There are seldom any corrections offered before the minutes are approved at the next meeting.

You can view Minutes of City Council meetings online by going to the City's homepage. Scroll to the bottom and click on the link.

Dorr Township meeting Minutes are improving. Minutes of some past meetings can be viewed online at www.dorrtownship.com and agendas for meetings can be viewed there, too.