Resident Wants County To Provide Minutes Quicker, More Accessible

A Crawford County resident who criticized County Clerk John Martin for being backlogged on meeting minutes said that she wants the commission to do a better job of providing those minutes to the public.

Cynthia Redburn addressed the commission May 31. She asked why the commission was approving three weeks worth of minutes.

When Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders told her there was a backup, Sanders said that Martin sometimes doesn’t get to them right away.

Redburn insisted the minutes should be provided weekly, which led to a heated exchange between her and Martin.

Martin challenged Redburn to look through Missouri’s Sunshine Law and find where he is required to provide weekly minutes.

“I’ve got 10 lawyers to back me up,” Martin said.

Redburn, who called Martin’s behavior “unacceptable,” returned to the commission room July 5. She said she called the state attorney general’s office to discuss the Sunshine Law and conceded that Martin was right.

“There is no timeframe for the minutes to be submitted,” Redburn said.

However, Redburn said the agenda should be posted 24 hours before the meeting (the May 31 meeting still had the May 24 agenda on the bulletin board) and that after speaking to multiple people on boards and councils, learned those minutes were made available following the meeting.

“I realize there are circumstances, but this is a pattern,” Redburn said. 

When she told the attorney general’s office about the situation, Redburn said she was asked by the person she spoke with what the commission said.

Redburn said she told that person the commission was fine with how Martin was handling his duties.

She said only has certain means to get information on the county: she can be in attendance for the meeting or receive minutes.

“If the minutes aren’t provided in a timely manner, I have no idea what is going on,” she said. 

She also criticized the accuracy of Martin’s minutes, saying that she wanted all of her questions included.

Redburn also urged the county to act on a website that to make the minutes available.

“It would be a great service to the citizens,” she said. 

Sanders told Redburn they would take her suggestions under advisement.

“We’ll live with what we have,” Redburn concluded.