SHOW ME THE RECORDS: City meeting minutes

You can learn a lot about your community, state and country. Open records help people keep government in check and help them better understand how government affects their lives.

Each week the Missourian will feature another open record. This week:

The records: Meeting minutes from City Council meetings, city commission meetings and city board meetings.

Why you'd want them: To catch up on city meetings you don't have time to attend and for background information on City Council agenda items. The minutes are a government body's official version of what happened, including motions made and votes taken.

Where you get the records: The link to the City Council meeting minutes are on the main council page, which is located under the city government tab on the City of Columbia's website. To get to the meeting minutes for different boards and commissions you'll need to select the website for the individual board or commission. Links to all the boards and commissions are also under the city government tab.

How much will it cost: The information is free.