Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/919568
DECEMBER 27, 2017 - JANUARY 2, 2018 UCW 7 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Often citizens rely on the media to learn about the workings of local government. In Fayetteville, that means e Fayetteville Observer and Up & Coming Weekly. Out of town T V stations rarely cover cit y council or count y commission meet- ings. Radio stations used to but haven't in many years. Talk show hosts get their information from the papers. When a neighborhood issue piques the interest of residents, they turn out. e Haymount crowd showed interest when a private school wanted to locate in a historic house on Morganton Road. ey were opposed to it, and the city council voted it down. Residents of a suburban neighborhood in West Fayetteville were concerned about a rezoning issue and attended a council meeting. And again, council rejected the rezoning. Every once in a while, a major city wide contro- versy flares up and the citizenry awakens. So, day to day and week to week, people depend on the Observer and Up & Coming Weekly for news of what goes on in city hall and the county courthouse. Journalists attend the meetings regularly. But, they're not always welcome. Over the course of the last year-and-a-half, city council has held nearly 30 closed or private meet- ings barring the public and media representatives. e two main subjects of discussion, I believe, were contracts involving construction and management of the new baseball stadium and nearby private investments, plus the proposed city/county 911 emergency communications center. County com- missioners have a significant interest in the 911 call center but have not held any meetings behind closed doors. North Carolina law says, "It is the policy of this State that closed sessions shall be held only when required to permit a public body to act in the pub- lic interest as permitted in this section. A public body may hold a closed session and exclude the public only when a closed session is required." Note that the statute says a public body may hold a closed session. It doesn't say that it must. ere are nine specific and ver y limited reasons that a public body may hold closed meetings. It's up to the cit y and count y attorneys to enforce the law governing private discussions. This is t he preamble to general statute ยง 143- 318.9, which is entit led "Meetings of Public Bod- ies:" "W hereas t he public bodies t hat administer t he legislative, policy-mak ing, quasi-judicial, administrative, and adv isor y functions of Nort h Carolina and its political subdiv isions ex ist solely to conduct t he people's business, it is t he public policy of Nort h Carolina t hat t he hearings, deliberations, and actions of t hese bodies be conducted openly." It's clear that local journalists and the compa- nies they represent have lost faith in city council's ability to distinguish between the rule and the few exceptions to the rule. Only one member of council has personally assured this reporter that he will try to be more attuned to the discussions that go on behind closed doors and call out his colleagues if they veer from the rule. Meetings of public bodies by JEFF THOMPSON JEFF THOMPSON, Senior News Reporter. COMMENTS? news@ upandcomingweekly.com. (910) 484-6200. OPINION Over the course of the last year-and-a-half, cit y coun- cil has held nearly 30 closed or private meetings bar- ring the public and media representatives. For More Information: Call Today 910.391.3859 Better Business Bureau of Coastal Carolina | bbb.org/myrtle-beach Add Trust To Your Brand Get Accredited 1,500 new families move into Fayetteville and Cumberland County every month. Many depend on the Better Business Bureau to recommend local "trustworthy" businesses and services. Are you an Accredited BBB Business?