The Greensboro City Council will hold the regular first meeting of the month on Tuesday, May 3 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
This is scheduled to be a “hybrid” meeting where the public and councilmembers can participate in person or via Zoom. However, the deadline for participating by Zoom was 5 p.m. on Monday, May 2.
According to the agenda, those attending the meeting will be allowed to stay for the entire meeting and will not be ushered out after they speak or their particular agenda item is considered.
The first meeting of the month is the only meeting of the month when the City Council holds a public forum, also called speakers from floor, when people are allowed to speak for three minutes on the topic of their choosing. At the second meeting of the ,month the public is only allowed to speak on specific agenda items and not on matters of general concern.
According to the agenda, the council will consider an 11-item consent agenda, which is supposed to consist of noncontroversial, housekeeping type items and are all passed with one vote. As often noted, if any councilmember other than Councilmember Sharon Hightower wishes to discuss a consent agenda item, it is removed from the consent agenda and placed on the general business agenda for the next meeting. If Hightower wishes to discuss a consent agenda item, she is allowed to do so at the meeting.
There is one public hearing item on the agenda to consider adding 10 properties to the Downtown Business Improvement District. These properties include seven separate parcels owned by Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on North Greene Street, West Fisher Avenue, West Smith Street and Simpson Street.
Also included in the request are Triad Network Properties LLC at 507 Simpson St., Carolina Bank at 212 N. Cedar St. and Westerwood Apartments LLC at 214 N. Cedar St.
There are also eight items on the general business agenda that includes a proposal to raise the property tax rate by 0.25 cents to provide the revenue to increase the emergency fund to the minimum required by the North Carolina Local Government Commission.
Will someone please tell me why we are still having to put up with these “hybrid” meetings? Everyone seems to be able to go anywhere else they what to go in town. Seems to me it’s just another form of control.
You are correct. Certain council members are out every night of the weekend musing with the dirty public.