A Message From The Mayor

SUNSHINE LAW IN A NUTSHELL

We have been receiving multiple requests for documents, mostly the same ones, from citizens. I am happy to see that the people of Cole Camp are taking an active interest in of their city government. Every citizen should be informed about what is happening in Board of Aldermen meetings and in committee meetings. I’m writing this to clear up common misconceptions about the Sunshine Law and to help citizens to receive the information they need to stay informed.

The Sunshine Law is found in Chapter 610, RSMo. It can be found on line or you may call the Attorney General’s Office at 573-751-3321 to request a paper copy of the complete law. I am highlighting specific areas in this message.

1. Sunshine Law allows 72 hr. (three business days) for the city to respond to a request. This means that someone from the city will contact you about your request. It does not mean that you will have what you requested within three business days. The City Clerk is the keeper of records and is responsible for responding to these requests. She may not have the requested information and need to obtain it from a committee chairman. It may require research into past files and that can take a while. Please don’t wait until the day of a meeting to request information about that meeting.
2. Sunshine Law allows the city to charge for making copies and for the clerk’s salary for the time required to process the request. There is no specific information that I have found regarding charge for digital information. The city is allowed to recoup the cost for responding to the request and the information is not provided either electronically or on paper until the fees are paid. The clerk has not been charging a fee for digital transfer of information up to this time. However, I plan to discuss this with the Board of Aldermen soon because it takes the clerk away from her other responsibilities. The number of requests we have been receiving recently are taking a significant amount of time.
3. Closed records are not available to the public. There is a list of 25 items that are considered closed information that are listed in the Sunshine Law. Minutes of closed sessions are generally available 72 hours (three business days) after the meeting unless they contain information listed in those 25 items.
   I hope that this will clear up some of the questions about the Sunshine Law. This is in no way a complete summary of the law. It is meant to answer some of the most common questions I have heard from others.