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law, every document in the possession of a State agency or local government was a public record, but <br />some were exempt from disclosure. Mr. Lidz believed that most people, using a common sense <br />interpretation of the term "public record," would read the sentence and believe that they had access to <br />those exempted records. He suggested that the sentence in question could be deleted, or alternatively, <br />the text included in Appendix W of the council's notebook regarding the amendments could be used. <br /> <br />Mr. Carlson reported that the City Council formerly had an Audit Committee composed of councilors <br />that oversaw the details of the City's financial audit. The council discontinued the committee because <br />of a lack of interest. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to refer the proposed new section creating the position of <br />a city performance auditor to the ballot in the November 2002 election. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to amend the motion by revising the sentence that read <br />"All audit reports are public records" to read "All audit reports are public records and are subject to <br />disclosures required by and in accordance with State law pertaining to disclosure of public records." <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly called for council comments and questions. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson preferred the City Manager's approach, which was to adopt text parallel to that used for <br />the City Attorney position, as opposed to the more detailed recommendation of the CCRC. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr indicated support for the amendment but said he did not favor the main motion because of the <br />complexity of the text being proposed. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Pap~, Mr. Lidz said that the amendment ensured that audits were <br />subject to State law regarding public records. It did not add substance in that the requirements for <br />disclosure would be the same under State law, but it did provide assurance to a member of the public <br />reading the charter that the reports would be treated like other public records, and not placed where <br />they could not be reviewed. He believed that it would be a rare instance in which a report was exempt <br />from disclosure. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ opposed the amendment, saying he preferred the charter remain simple. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor thought the amendment accomplished the simplicity Mr. Pap~ was seeking. Mr. Lidz <br />concurred. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly believed the amendment was responsive to the legal counsel's concerns. He also believed it <br />provided philosophical assurance related to the public nature of the audit reports. <br /> <br />Mr. Carlson said that the amendment was actually a restatement of State law. <br /> <br />The motion passed, 7:1; Mr. Pap~ voting no. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr indicated opposition to the amended motion, saying the audit process currently in place was <br />sufficient and met the needs of the citizens. He said that if something was to be placed on the ballot, it <br />should be simple. <br /> <br /> <br />