New Council, More Closed Doors: The Numbers Tell The Story
The city's own rules say that any item not dealt with in a closed session must go to the next closed session unless they hold a vote in open council to defer it to another date. However, items are being deferred with no return date. They are falling off the radar.
A New Council, Same Closed Doors
Former Councillor Shila Sharps put it this way in a social media comment in response to a comment made by Councillor Hellman: "The requirement isn't to go into Camera when it's minutia, and detailed and boring. The only reason you should be in camera is third-party reputational harm, etc. The exceptions are few."
Summer Break, Closed Doors, and a Big Middle Finger to Transparency
Remember how well that worked August 19 2024 when the open meeting was cancelled, ostensibly for a lack of agenda items? That time it was after the summer break. The September 3 2024 meeting went into overtime - it was a marathon session at just over 5 hours that went until 11:32pm. Nobody makes good decisions that close to midnight.
