City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba is continuing to make the government of the City of Greensboro less transparent.
All nine members of the Greensboro City Council are running for election on Tuesday, July 26 and claim to support a more open and transparent city government, but they refuse to take any action to hinder or halt the actions of one of their two employees who is doing the opposite.
Some of Jaiyeoba’s actions have been obvious – like his attempt to ban the media from the Katie Dorsett Council Chambers and force the media to cover City Council meetings from a table in the balcony where the vast majority of the members of the City Council and city staff are not visible.
Jaiyeoba’s stated intent was to ban the media from the Council Chambers entirely during meetings, but because the meetings are open to the public and the media representatives qualify as “public,” that was not possible.
But there are more subtle changes such as not posting the presentations for City Council meetings and work sessions on the City of Greensboro website. The presentations are technically available by making a public records request, but considering how long public records requests often take, it is not a reasonable method for journalists to acquire them.
In an incredible example of withholding information, Jaiyeoba didn’t provide copies of his proposed 2021-2022 budget to the City Council until the day after he presented the budget at the City Council meeting. City Councilmember Sharon Hightower complained about trying to discuss a budget that she had not seen at the Monday, May 23 City Council meeting.
Now there is another subtle example of not making information readily available to the public. The upcoming City Council work sessions are no longer listed under “Upcoming Meetings” on the “Council Meetings” page of the City of Greensboro website. City Council Work Sessions are official meetings of the City Council and by law the City Council may take any action in its power at a Work Session.
However, the City Council usually doesn’t take official votes at Work Sessions but takes action by consensus.
During the Work Sessions on the budget, such as the upcoming Work Sessions in June, the City Council traditionally makes major decisions on tax rates and spending by consensus which are then formalized by an official vote when the City Council passes the budget. Councilmembers who may have been on the losing side of a consensus “vote” in a budget work session, often vote for the overall budget despite their disagreement with some items.
The June Work Sessions are listed on the “2022 City Council Meeting Schedule” under the heading “Tentative Work Session” and they are Thursday, June 9; Tuesday, June 14 and Thursday, June 30. The list also states, “Work Sessions are held at 2:00 p.m.” But the meeting time of Work Sessions are often changed.
Greensboro hired Charlotte’s waste. Now you got it. Greensboro is fast becoming like Washington DC…guess we could call it Little Washington, but that would be an insult to the town of Washington NC which is located in eastern North Carolina.
No, we are “Big Sedalia”.
Manipulating the system to keep the public and the press from all governmental functions is a great example of marxism where the common man is purposely kept in the dark. The council should instruct the new manager that this will not be tolerated. He can either comply, leave or be fired.
Yes! Well said.
The city of Greensboro has hired a far-Left socialist from Africa to govern our city.
God only knows why…. but he needs to be FIRED ASAP.
Well, he ain’t from around here you know.
Transparency huh? What a joke. They’re anything but….
Democracy dies in darkness. What a travesty and example of failed ethical behavior from folks that were either elected or hired to serve the people. So sad Mandate Mayor and her new stooge Manager are terrified of the public seeing exactly how corrupt and spoiled our local government currently operates under cover of bureaucratic obstfucation.
City Council hired a man whose name clearly indicates he is not local. What makes someone think that the Council really wants transparency? I suggest that the Council now has someone to blame for the opaqueness that they actually desire. I believe that if this City Council could work behind closed doors, that would be their preference.
Google Nigerian Mafia if you want to know the real agenda; they already run many cities worldwide. I was clued to this by a military intelligence officer; it is scary beyond even Marxism.
I would say that Charlotte tried to warn Greensboro but that would be a lie because they wanted him gone there also. GREENSBORO elected leaders, YOU SCREWED UP BIG TIME! Your lack of business acumen and your eyes glossing over the fact of hiring a black foreigner to show how diverse and correct this city of the south is, you hired a man that wasn’t wanted where he was. Time and again you prove to we the people how terrible and ignorant all of y’all are. Now do something, swallow some pride and get rid of this man. And while I am on this ” do something kick”, when are you going to clean up the street downtown that has Black Lives Matter painted on ? Everybody knows how this organization received millions of dollars , turned its back on the black community, and has no accounting of the money except for the 4 houses they bought for themselves. CLEAN UP THE STREET, NOW!
Yes indeed , get that up asap.