Home in Henderson has learned that a meeting will take place between Henderson City and Vance County officials today.
A comment post was made regarding this meeting on Home in Henderson at 7:45 p.m. The comment post was independently verified.
The time and the location of the meeting are not known, as the press was not informed that the meeting would take place. It is also unknown what topics the meeting will cover.
From the City, Henderson Mayor Clem Seifert, Mayor Pro-Tem Ranger Wilkerson, and City Manager Jerry Moss will participate. The County will be represented by Chair of the Vance County Board of Commissioners Deborah Brown, Vice-Chair Danny Wright, and County Manager Jerry Ayscue.
The meeting was arranged by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce. The President of the Chamber, Bill Edwards, will be attending the meeting. James Edwards, publisher of The Daily Dispatch and member of the Chamber’s board will also be present. It is unclear whether his participation is relative to his role as a journalist or a Chamber board member.
It is not known whether or not the meeting is strictly legal. Although only two officials from the City are attending, as Mayor, Seifert is an ex-officio member of all City Council committees, and his presence may constitute a quorum of any one of the committees upon which Wilkerson serves (Public Safety, Finance and Intergovernmental Relations, and Public Works). However, since Seifert does not vote on any committees, it is more likely that the non-public meeting pairing adheres to the letter of the law.
As for the County, if Brown and Danny Wright do not participate on any of the same County Commission committees, then their meeting in an official capacity does not make a quorum of any County committee.
The Daily Dispatch has frequently criticized the Henderson City Council for violations of the Open Meeting Law. Most recently, it pointed out that the Vance County Board of Education violated the Open Meeting Law when it voted on personnel changes by electronic means (telephone and e-mail) rather than in an assembled meeting.