Todd Paris, Associate Editor and Salisbury Attorney
♦ After looking for the Salisbury N.C. City Rules for Council Meetings on the City’s website and failing, I stumbled upon the one used for Salisbury, Maryland. They have meetings at 6:00 p.m. and clarify how council members and even the public (believe it or not) can get an item added to the agenda and if the item is legal, constitutional and proper, the mayor is required to add the item to the agenda. To often with Salisbury, N.C.’s City Council, “it’s not on the agenda” and the “prior restraint’ of what’s placed on the agenda is used as a mechanism to stifle dissent from some council members and prevents openness and transparency. We should adopt a similar ordinance and (or) policy and meeting time so working folks can attend with public comment at both meetings like the County does so as to prevent the scheduling of controversial matters for the “no public comment” meeting. That’s what open and transparent government looks like.
Lest it be said that I am always negative.
Kudos – for the Police Chief’s “early retirement” and Stallings appointment as interim. Morale has improved at the PD.
Demerit – for throwing the almost 200 page 2015 Finance Report and Audit at new council members at December’s council meeting, with no advance copy or earlier phone call or meeting with the City Manager to prepare, when clearly drafts and copies were available for weeks, and then expecting Kenny and David to ask intelligent questions of the auditor and provide required oversight. Or maybe that was the idea?
Demerit – for an oral auditor’s report in front of citizens and media that skipped not one but two negative findings. 1) That the broadband fund still operates in violation of the law and that 2) Internal controls were lacking so that embezzlement might occur in collections and; mentioning only “in passing” a letter to the Council disclosing actual embezzlement. Of course, this letter was not provided that night either, and I had to do a FOIA to get it.
Demerit – for “tabling” the discussion on the audit when clearly new members wanted to discuss it and never placing it back on the agenda for such discussion when the auditor could return for informed questions.
Demerit – for suggesting that new council members meet with staff in private to discuss the audit findings instead of discussing it in front of the media and public.
Mayor’s Demerit – The Fibrant deficit and it’s affects on City Infrastructure including a reduction in pay, numbers and morale at SPD, which resulted in a over 75% attrition rate, is the largest contributor to our current inability to handle the increase in violent crime. I suggest attention be turned to fixing something we can fix, like fair pay for our officers instead of calling for Firearms Registration.
BTW, How much WAS embezzled in the collections department?
