Which record controls, the audio tape or the official summary of proceedings or minutes?
The official record would be the formal minutes which are reviewed and approved by the legislative body in accordance with their adopted rules of procedure. In the event of a conflict between the officially adopted minutes and the audio tape, several legal issues are raised and the situation would need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The official minutes will likely control. The rules of procedure for the legislative body should address correction of official minutes in the event the tape reveals an obvious mistake. • If the council or commission makes tapes of its meetings solely as an aid to preparation of the official minutes and the official minutes of a particular meeting have been prepared, approved, and made available for public review, is the county still required to make the tapes available to the public? Yes. The audio tapes are still “public records” which must be made available for review under the state public records disclosure laws. For more information about Wa
