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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1270ORDINANCE NO. 1270 ALABAMA OPEN MEETINGS ACT POLICY ON DIRECT NOTICE TO THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Alabama Legislature has passed, and the Governor has signed, Act No. 2005-40, the ALABAMA OPEN MEETING ACT. This new law repeals the Sunshine Law, Section 13A-14-2, Code of Alabama, 1975 beginning on October 1, 2005. Section One. Purpose. The purpose of this policy is to set forth the procedures and policies applicable to all members of the public or media who wish to receive direct notice of meetings held by entities in the City of Fairhope in compliance with the Alabama Open Meetings Act. Section Two. Applicability. Any member of the public or media may request to receive direct notice of meetings held by entities in the City of Fairhope in compliance with the Alabama Open Meetings Act. Section Three. Procedure. (a) The City of Fairhope will provide direct notice via e-mail. The city reserves the right to use alternative methods of notification such as fax, telephone and or mail if e-mail if for technical reasons electronic means are not available at the time of notification. Any cost the municipality will incur using this alternative method of notification must be paid in advance by the person requesting the alternative method of notification. (b) Any member of the media or public who wishes to receive direct notice of meetings held by entities in the City of Fairhope that are subject to the Alabama Open Meetings Act must file a written application with the city/town clerk. Persons wishing to receive direct notice must provide, at a minimum, their name, address and telephone number, and a valid e-mail address. The list of individuals requesting direct notice shall be maintained as a public record by the City of Fairhope. Section Four. Updating List. Following application, the applicant's name shall be added to the list of those who shall receive direct notice of all future meetings, provided that notice may not be given for meetings held within one week of the receipt of the application so that the clerk may have time to update the list. Section Five. Removal from List. A person's name may be removed from the list if he or she fails to attend five meetings after notice has been provided. That person may then reapply to receive direct notice by following the procedures set out in this policy. An individual may also be removed if the City/Town has information that indicates that the e-mail address is no longer valid or that the applicant is not checking his or her messages. Misuse of the e-mail notification in any manner will also result in removal from the list and may constitute grounds to prevent future applicant to receive direct meeting notice by the offending individual. Section Six. Notice Failure. The City of Fairhope is not responsible in the event of any notice failure that is not due to a fault of its own. Section Seven. Severability. Each and every provision of this ordinance is hereby declared to be an independent provision and the holding of any provision hereof to be void and invalid shall not affect any other provision hereof, and it is hereby declared that the other provisions of this ordinance would have been enacted regardless of any provision which might have been held invalid. Section Eight Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective on the October 1, 2005. This ordinance shall be in full force upon its adoption and publication as provided by law. ATTEST: Geniece W. c W Y m m Q y0� �U U a iu a U W o� z w ADOPTED THIS 10`h DAY OF OCTOBER , 2005.