Logo courtesy of the City of Gridley

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – The Gridley City Council has approved a shift to shorter action minutes while designating audio and video recordings as the official record of council and Planning Commission meetings.

The change comes as meeting recordings have returned to the city’s website following delays associated with its transition to a new site. City Administrator Elisa Arteaga said there had been some problems getting recordings posted during the changeover, but the online archive is now current.

Under the new system, written minutes will focus on formal business, including motions, votes, ordinances, public hearings and directions given to city officials. The recordings will preserve the full proceedings, including council comments, presentations and public testimony.

Arteaga said the intent is not to reduce the public record but to distinguish between the concise written account of council action and the complete recording of what occurred.

“The recording preserves the actual discussion,” Arteaga said.

The city previously prepared detailed minutes that attempted to summarize much of the conversation during meetings. Officials said moving to action minutes should reduce the time required to prepare those documents and allow the City Clerk’s Office to devote more attention to elections, public records requests, records management, public notices and other duties.

Arteaga said recordings will be maintained on the city server and made available through the city’s official online platforms. She also said the city is developing a process to make sure recordings are uploaded promptly once meeting records are approved.

The council approved the new format and designated the recordings as an official public record. No additional cost is anticipated, officials said.