The Greensboro City Council held a 15-minute illegal closed meeting on Tuesday, April 27.
The City Council work session was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and it is assumed it began sometime after 2 p.m. and lasted until about 2:15 p.m., when the meeting was recessed until 2:40 in an attempt to work out the issues.
At about 2:45 p.m., the meeting was adjourned when it was determined that the legal notification issues for the meeting could not be retroactively fixed.
According to City Councilmember Justin Outling, the meeting had to be adjourned because even if it were live streamed on the Greensboro Television Network (GTN), the official notice of the meeting stated that it could be viewed “through the City website https://greensboro.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.” The official notice did not state that it could be viewed on GTN, which Outling said would make the notice “deficient.”
Plus, the meeting was never broadcast on GTN, making the notification issue moot.
Since the public was prohibited from attending the meeting and the meeting was not live streamed on the City of Greensboro website, as the agenda for the meeting stated it would be, and was also not on the Greensboro Television Network, not much is known about what took place at the 15-minute meeting.
Outling, in response to a text, stated that he was under the impression that the meeting was being live streamed on GTN.
The North Carolina open meetings law prohibits public bodies such as the City Council from holding sessions that are not open to the public. When the City Council does go into closed session, a motion must first be made in open session stating the reason for the closed session.
This was not a closed session and no one is claiming that it was.
The open meetings law was amended for the pandemic to allow public bodies to meet virtually without the public present, but those meetings have to be available for the public to view live. This meeting was not, which is why it was adjourned.
Outling reportedly notified City Manager David Parrish that the meeting was not available on the website or on GTN, and after about 15 minutes the meeting was reportedly recessed until the live streaming issues could be worked out and then it was adjourned.
City Attorney Chuck Watts explained by text that the reason for the adjournment was that the public notice could not be retroactively changed to inform people how to view the meeting.
Retroactive notice of a live meeting??? We need recalls for Mandate Mayor and her woke cabal of illegal meeting supporters. City attorney should be disbarred for allowing these shenanigans. The public is being bilked, abused, disdained, and ignored for what?? Mandate Mayor is way out of line and her actions are borderline illegal and unconstitutional on a regular basis. No frIend to the citizens of our fair city. Elections cannot get here soon enough. City staff is either complicit or unable to force Council to follow state and federal law and should be reprimanded as well. Our leadership is corrupt folks.
Tired of this City Council doing as they please regardless of rules, laws…they were elected to serve the citizens of Greensboro and not to push through their own agendas…hope we have enough people with common sense to vote them out next round…they are not representative of those who pay taxes and for all this waste in this city…period!
No accountability, are they above the law? They sure act like it!
They are not only complicit they’re incompetent.
How about “incomplicity”?
More dereliction of office, fraud, dishonesty, abuse of power, abuse of our tax dollars and corruption!
John’s such a douche and can’t find anything else worth writing and reporting about.
Nice narrative. The police or perhaps a citizens arrest could have resulted in the deadly use of force as they violently reached for their mouse to click the refresh button.
Why does truthful reporting of the news make John a douche. If it wasn’t for the Rhino we would never hear about some of the crap going on in the city. Me thinks you are a coverup democrat. You have free will don’t like what he says don’t read it.
Well, if you need it explained how writing a whiny story about how city council immediately canceled a meeting when it wasn’t working appropriately for online viewers and using clickbait techniques to declare it an “illegal” meeting could be seen as douchey, you probably aren’t going to be willing to see that perspective.
John is such a douche. Consistently. He’s the Green Eggs and Ham of douchery. He’s douchey here, there, and everywhere. In a car, at the bar, near and far. Pardon me if I use me free will to express that. Sadly, I don’t have the super power to know what someone says until after I read their douchey writing.
If you think John is a “douche”, then why are you reading his online paper? Oh yes, even John is entitled to free speech, right?
Looks like John raises your blood pressure maybe you should try yoga to relieve your stress or just not read the Rhino I think you’re a Pelosi Biden fan you really don’t want to know any truths
Everyone is entitled to my opinion. Ain’t free speech wunnerful?
$900.000 given to ONE City Council member and “they” all seem to be happy with that. And there are “9” Council members which is $100.000 a piece This IS defunding the police department. They ALL should be in prison. Get these “blank” persons OUT of there as soon as possible.
Hooray for the Rhino!!!!!I have enjoyed the since we used to get papers at the grocery store.John is great when it comes to opening a can of worms about local Shenanigans by our Leaders.When will the average person going to get tired of the foolishness of the city council,school board and county commissioners .Thanks to John and the Rhino.
Without the Rhino, we will be spoon-fed the latest Marxist line.