§ 2-12. Notices of meetings of public bodies of the city.

(a)

The purpose of this section is to supplement the provisions of the Louisiana Public Meetings Law, R.S. 42:4.1 et seq., by requiring that meeting notices of public bodies of the city government be posted at a location on the first floor of City Hall in addition to any location required by state law. This section applies to the city council, the executive branch, and all boards and commissions recognized, created or authorized by or pursuant to the City Charter or ordinance, and committees or subcommittees thereof, including advisory committees, and public trusts, public benefit corporations, special districts, including all such entities involved in the city's competitive selection process and other public bodies whose board members are appointed or approved by the mayor or city council. This section shall also apply to all city government public bodies including those located outside of City Hall.

(b)

With the exception of the city council, it shall be the duty of the person acting as chairperson or director of a public body subject to the provisions of this section to ensure that a copy of the meeting notices for that particular public body required by R.S. 42:7 are submitted for posting on a notice board maintained on the first floor of City Hall by the mayor's office of public advocacy, or its successor. Such notices may be delivered to the mayor's office of public advocacy, or its successor by hand, mail, fax, or e-mail, provided that delivery of the meeting notice shall allow posting of the notice at City Hall at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

(c)

It shall be the duty of the president of the city council to ensure that copies of all public meeting notices for the city council are posted in accordance with R.S. 42:4.1 et seq. on a notice board maintained by the council adjacent to the office of the clerk of council. It shall likewise be the duty of council committee chairs to cause notice of meetings of their respective committees to be posted on the council's notice board. A directive to the council chief of staff by the council president or committee chair shall constitute compliance with the provisions of this paragraph.

(d)

It shall be the duty of the director of the mayor's office of public advocacy or its successor to maintain a notice board or boards as contemplated by this section on the first floor of City Hall and to ensure that all meeting notices received pursuant to this section are promptly posted, and in compliance with the provisions set forth in this section. The meeting notice board(s) shall be of a design that ensures that notices shall be viewable by the public and prevents tampering with or removing the meeting notices prior to the day after the date of the posted meeting. Expired notices shall be removed promptly, but not later than 72 hours after the end of a meeting. If an electronic meeting notice board is used, the mayor's office of public advocacy or its successor shall, in the event of any malfunction of the electronic board, cause the repair of the board or provide an alternative notice posting in accordance with the provisions of this section within ten working days of the date of the malfunction. The posting requirements of this section shall not be applicable during a period of electronic notice board malfunction.

(e)

All public bodies of the city government are encouraged to transmit to the mayor's office of technology or its successor meeting notices in the manner provided in paragraph (b). The mayor's office of technology or its successor is encouraged to post such notices on the city website. Noncompliance with this paragraph shall not constitute a violation of the law.

(f)

All public bodies of the city government are encouraged to post notices of their meetings on the internet and shall provide e-mail notices of meetings to interested parties who so request.

(g)

The provisions of this section shall become effective on July 31, 2008. The requirements of this section may be deferred beyond July 31, 2008, by motion of the council.

(h)

In accordance with R.S. 42:7, in cases of extraordinary emergency, such notice shall not be required; however, the public body shall give such notice of the meeting as it deems appropriate and circumstances permit.

(i)

For the purposes of this section, it shall be the duty of the chief administrative officer, after consultation with the department of law, within 30 days of the effective date of this section, [to] issue notice to all entities subject to the provisions of this section explaining their responsibilities under this section. A copy of this notice shall be submitted to the clerk of council and is encouraged to be posted on the city's website.

(j)

Penalties.

(1)

The general penalty provision of the City Code contained in section 1-13 shall not apply to this section.

(2)

The provisions of state law, R.S. 42:4.1 et seq., shall be enforced as provided therein and not through municipal action.

(3)

Any board member or unclassified employee who is given a duty under this section who willfully fails to perform the duty may be subject to the provisions of section 3-125 or subsection 9-104(2) of the City Charter, which provide for suspension, dismissal, or removable from office.

(M.C.S., Ord. No. 23100, § 1, 5-1-08)