MOUNT OLIVE — The town’s mayor, Jerome Newton, has even less authority now than when he took office, as The Mount Olive Board of Commissioners in a special meeting today voted unanimously to significantly limit his authority.
Before adjourning to go into closed session, Mayor Pro Tem Delreese Simmons asked the mayor to recuse himself, but Newton declined. The board then voted for the mayor to leave, and he did.
After meeting for nearly 90 minutes, the board returned to open session and the mayor rejoined the meeting. The board then approved a resolution that outlined a lengthy list of changes to the mayor’s authority going forward.
According to the North Carolina Open Meetings Law, town boards cannot meet in closed session to discuss board members, so today’s closed session was a violation of state law.
Under the North Carolina Open Meetings Law (N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11), the “Personnel Exception” allows boards to go into closed session to discuss employees, but this exception specifically excludes members of the public body itself.
Town officials, however, say closing the meeting was lawful because it dealt with more than Newton. However, the only action taken when they returned from the closed-door meeting was to limit the mayor’s authority.
The action taken in open session, though, is legal. See the full story later at mountolivetribune.com
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