Officials good about turning over minutes

Most city officials in Montana willingly provide citizens with minutes of their city council or city commission meetings - if those minutes have at least been typed into ''draft'' form.

Citizens participating in a statewide check of access to public records this summer requested copies of the minutes of the city council or city commission's most recent meeting in Montana's 56 county seats.

The citizens got minutes from one of the last two meetings in 52 of the counties. But only in 35 communities did they get the current minutes, even in draft or audiotape form. Another 17 city clerks, or 30 p...