Every organization has a hierarchy, whether it is official or not.
Judging from the scheduling of City Council work sessions, it seems that Councilmember Michelle Kennedy is at the top of the City Council heap.
Councilmember Justin Outling frequently requests work sessions on topics, and although Mayor Nancy Vaughan agrees to schedule them, for some reason they don’t get on the calendar.
Outling tried a different tack at the June 2 City Council meeting and made a motion that the council hold a work session within two weeks on police policy on stopping people based on a description. The motion passed unanimously, but June 16 came and went with no work session. However, the work session was held on June 18.
At that work session Kennedy tried to bring up matters she wanted to discuss about police and Outling very nicely said: Get your own work session.
And that work session for Kennedy’s concerns was held five days later on Tuesday, June 23. An occurrence that did not go unnoticed by her fellow councilmembers.
At the work session held to discuss Kennedy’s issues with the Police Department, Councilmember Tammi Thurm noted that she had been trying to get a work session scheduled and information on requiring a written form for a consent search by police for months.
A consent search often involves a vehicle that a police officer has stopped for a traffic violation and then asks for the driver’s consent to search the car. The driver can refuse, but many drivers don’t realize they have that right and consent to have their vehicle searched. Some jurisdictions use a written form to make certain that the driver is told they can refuse and consents to the search anyway.
Thurm has been talking about this for at least six months and so far has not gotten her own work session on the topic she believes is important for the City Council to discuss.
Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter has also requested work sessions that have not been held.
It is possible that after holding two work sessions in less than a week, the City Council will begin following the policy of previous city councils and holding regular work sessions where topics of interest to councilmembers are discussed in detail.
How hard was Mr. Kennedy “working” while babysitting? If I come to work holding my grandchild, I’m not really working am I? I’m paying attention to the baby or should be. The city council is such a joke. I anxiously await the day Justin finally takes all he can take and swings at one of the biddies who has no concept of procedures, decorum, or just plain manners. How unprofessional for a council member to appear in any meeting doing household chores or personal business while “working.” It was a slap in Justin’s face with Kennedy saying this meeting doesn’t warrant my attention because it’s not my meeting.
Ms. Kennedy uses her baby as a visual aid.
Cram the Coop
Here we go again – Will the city council allow the chief to run his department or are they going to tell him how to run his department like they did the former Chief(s)?
I am confident our chief has the courage to stand up to city council in a professional manner through education. Chief James has to educate most of our city council members who are anti-authoritative.
City council should ride with the officers on patrol for many nights to see what they actually do. How can the council make decisions by sitting behind the desk with NO experience?
Time for most of our city council to trust and rely on Chief James to make the proper decisions for his department and the citizens of Greensboro.
City Council you hired Chief James. Now is the time to support, trust and back Chief James.
Your last chief was a puppet. Worried about his pension, not his department.
I suggest the city council allow Chief James to “do his job without interference!” Answer – YES!
Right! The Chief should do his job in the most professional manner as he can. If the City is unhappy, then they can just fire him. If the Chief is fired by this City, it would be a great job reference for him.
Another example of the word or expression of which I have never heard of, remembered, requested, disinfected, splainected, or otherwise flunested: “Cluster….”
Crumble the Coop