Columbia, MO, February 26, 2025 – In its ongoing struggle to acquire even the most basic public records from the City of Columbia’s current leadership, Race Matters, Friends has finally obtained access to city council meeting minutes from 2023 to 2025. These records, paid for and owned by the public, are now only openly available online on this webpage.
Meeting minutes are among the most fundamental and important reports for any government or public organization. They are the only real official record of which elected officials attended meetings, what issues they raised for discussion, and most importantly, how they voted. These minutes also retain an account of administrative staff commitments to tasks requested by elected officials, such as fully completing projects on deadline as staff promised in public meetings.
However, the City of Columbia’s current leadership has failed to make council meeting minutes openly accessible for years. Even though these minutes are voted on and approved at council meetings, the public must run the gauntlet of submitting special record requests with any number of city administrators and attorneys to even see them.
As an example of what to expect when making a rudimentary request for public records, Race Matters, Friends received this typical response from City Attorney Nancy Thompson: “… the posting of the City Council meeting minutes on the city's website is not required by the Sunshine Law and is not a legal issue. The Sunshine Law deals with whether a particular record must be open to the public, but other than requiring the posting of the agenda for a virtual meeting to be put on the website it does not mandate what other records must be posted on a website (or for how long).”
"It's ridiculous that Race Matters, Friends has to become the public’s sole provider for something as simple and critical as city council meeting minutes, but that is unfortunately the sad state of Columbia's current leadership,” said Traci Wilson-Kleekamp, vice president and founder of Race Matters, Friends. “Our organization will continue to aggressively advocate for government transparency and accountability as it has since our founding almost 10 years ago, no matter how many hoops and hurdles thrown at us by Columbia's elected officials, administrators and attorneys."
The council meeting minutes problem and other issues will be raised at Race Matters, Friends’ open forum for candidates participating in the April 8, 2025, election for Columbia’s city council and school board open positions. The forum will be held from 6-7:45 p.m. March 4 at the Columbia Public Library, Friends Room, 100 West Broadway.
“Even the smallest municipalities and public organizations make something as simple as meeting minutes easily available without having to beg, plead and submit multiple special requests to city administrators and attorneys,” said Susan Renee Carter, president of Race Matters, Friends. “There's something seriously wrong when Columbia -- which has an annual budget of more than $550 million, 1,500 staff members and is the fourth largest city in the state -- can't provide its taxpayers with even the most basic public services, information and open communication."
Race Matters, Friends volunteers are often the only and consistently present members of the public at Columbia city council meetings, school board meetings and advisory group gatherings. What they learn from the many hours at these meetings and requests for open records is shared with the public to raise awareness of issues that harm society’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. To support these volunteers and their efforts to advocate for community education, organization and mobilization, visit https://racemattersfriendsmissouri.org/donate/
