VIENNA — Rodney Southard, Eastern District commissioner, requested at the Aug. 20 commission meeting that the county release a transcript of the Aug. 3 closed session discussion regarding an elected official.

The commissioners discussed in closed session that an elected official had violated the county’s social media policy outlined in the employee handbook. Southard said that on Aug. 7, he researched elected officials and what can be discussed during closed session.

“It should have been an open session meeting,” he said.

Dan Curry, attorney for the Missouri Press Association, confirmed with the The Advocate that elected officials are not employees.

For full transparency, Southard requested that instead of a summary like how the meeting minutes are written, that County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers provide a detailed transcript of what was said.

Vic Stratman, Presiding commissioner, and Patrick Kleffner, Western District commissioner, both said they don’t have a problem with that request.

Rodgers said that she reached out to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and is waiting to hear back before releasing information to anyone instead of “taking someone else’s word for it.” Southard said he was fine with that.

Open records laws are governed by Chapter 610 of the Revised State Statutes. Under Section 610.021, there are 29 reasons that a government body can enter closed session.

The reason cited Aug. 3 was Subsection (3), which is for the “Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public governmental body when personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded.”

Subsection (13) is also commonly cited for personnel because it allows the discussion of “Individually indefinable personnel records, performance ratings or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment.” However, names, positions, salaries and tenures are public record.

In Opinion No. 77-92, William Webster, Missouri attorney general in 1992, wrote that the elected mayor and city council members, paid or unpaid, are not considered employees for Subsections (3) and (13).