Closed-Door Tuscaloosa Council Gathering Raises Concerns

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Patch can confirm that all six Tuscaloosa City Council members met behind closed doors Monday afternoon at a local hotel, raising questions concerning transparency as a new term begins. The elected officials, however, all claim the meeting was above board and stamped off by city hall.

The meeting, which took place in the breakfast room of the Hampton Inn by Hilton on Harper Lee Drive Monday afternoon, saw the councilors gathered for a lunch of Domino's pizza after Council President Kip Tyner had finished filming his show, "Great Day Tuscaloosa."

District 4's Lee Busby and District 1's Matthew Wilson could be seen exiting together at the conclusion of the meeting, which was also attended by District 2's Raevan Howard, District 3's Norman Crow and District 6's John Faile. While Patch cannot independently confirm if anyone else was in attendance at the meeting, the six councilors were the only ones left when the doors opened.

It's also worth noting there was no signage marking the gathering or any other kind of notice for members of the public who may have wanted to attend what could be viewed as an impromptu work session sans Mayor Walt Maddox.

While "gatherings" are permitted by state and municipal law for elected members of the council, the focus of concern with respect to transparency comes in the topics discussed. The law is broken when official city matters that could be voted on by the council are discussed by elected officials in a closed door meeting not advertised to the public.

"The council has always been advised that no meetings of a governmental body may be held without providing notice, and that the deliberative process of governmental bodies is open to the public," Tuscaloosa City Clerk Carly Standridge told Patch on Monday. "Per the open meetings act, social gatherings are not considered meetings. This matter was actually reinforced during the recent council orientation in April. What would violate the act is if any city business was discussed."

City statute dictates that no more than two City Council members can meet without the issuance of a public notice, unless the members are on the same council committee. According to Ala. Code §36-25A-3, governmental bodies must post notice of all meetings seven days prior to any such meeting that exceeds quorum limits.

Separately, Ala. Code § 11-44B-6 defines a quorum as "a majority of the elected members" in a legislative body.

According to the Alabama Open Meetings Act

“The term meeting shall only apply to the following: (3) The gathering, whether or not it was prearranged, of a quorum of a governmental body or a quorum of a committee or a subcommittee of a governmental body during which the members of the governmental body deliberate specific matters, at the time of the exchange, the participating members expect to come before the body, committee or subcommittee at a later date.”

“The term meeting shall not include: occasions when a quorum of a governmental body, committee or subcommittee attends social gatherings …”

“It is the policy of this State that the deliberative process of governmental bodies shall be open to the public during meetings as defined … no meetings of a governmental body may be held without providing notice pursuant to the requirements of Section 3 of this Act.”

Click here to view the full Alabama Open Meetings Act

While the meeting was not advertised to the public, Tyner pointed out that the city clerk had approved lunch gatherings for the city council, so long as city business is not a topic of discussion. He mentioned another such meeting held last week at Walks-Ons Sports Bistreaux, which he also said had an ethical stamp of approval from city hall.

"Just after my show we just had lunch," Tyner told Patch. "I've been in this too long, too long, not to know better [by getting city hall approval]."

The councilors declined to comment on the topics discussed in the meeting when asked by Patch, but District 4's Faile said the meeting was an innocent one, which gave the newly-minted city councilor the opportunity to ask about procedures and get to know his fellow elected officials.

"I asked about that today, what If I want to push something [a policy item] off, how do I do that?" Faile said. "We didn't really talk about anything, we just had lunch. I've been told we can have a meal together as long as we don't discuss anything we are going to vote on.

"I sat next to [District 2 Councilor Raevan Howard] but we've never had a conversation and you don't get to know people if you never get to talk to them," Faile added.

When asked about the meeting and its substance, Maddox — who was not in attendance nor given prior notice of the meeting — said his door was open to members of the council and would remain so.

"I am sure they will discuss with me their agenda from the Hampton Inn meeting," Maddox told Patch on Monday.

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