Public Safety Commission Scraps Executive Session

 
"It looks like you’re hiding something," Public Safety Commissioner Tom McNally said Monday night about the proposed closed-door meeting slated for the commission to discuss the town's  

In January, the Town Council agreed to spend $46,000 to have a Florida-based firm write the town’s new public safety plan. At least two of the commissioners Monday said the draft was lacking in that it contained numerous grammatical errors and was missing key sections including training. 

And McNally was not the commissioner that took issue with the move. 

"I question why it has to be secret," Commissioner Russ Wehner asked rhetorically.

Chesterfield Fire Department Chief Keith Truex took to the podium to share his position.

“There may be no ill intent …but the appearance is you guys are hiding something. You’re giving the wrong impression.”

And Wehner said that not every members even received a copy of the drat plan.

"I really don’t even understand why it has to be double secret. I’ve never seen such a thing.”

Wehner said the commission, the community and ultimately the safety plan, would be better served “by the actual hands-on people, the people that are impacted,” referring to fire chiefs, the fire marshal, and police brass.  

Mayor Ronald McDaniel said he too was dubious about the proposed executive session.

"There were concerns raised to my office, they were concerns frankly I shared," he said. The state FOI representative was contacted and he said initially that the commission could take the discussion of a draft document into a closed-door meeting. But later, backed off that position. McDaniel said "another person got a contrary position,” from the state official.

So McDaniel called back: “He said it could go either way. It’s a gray area. I see no harm and no foul to do it in public.”

Gary S. Allyn supported the executive session because he said there was a concern that a draft discussed in public would become the policy. “This is a formality of going through the plan” and waiting until it’s final to have it discussed publicly.

But Truex and others in the Council Chamber audience disagreed.

“It’s not a top secret document to hide,” Truex said. “You started with us, don’t cut us out now. We’re dealing on the front lines.”

Allyn, who had pushed for the session, said he at least wanted a timeline on moving forward. It was agreed the commission would provide comments on the draft and meet again next week to deliver it to all the emergency services and law enforcement administrators for input.

So the commission ended up scraping the session, but did not discuss any plan contents once it had voted to nix the private discussion on the public plan.

The commission consists of 7 members, five of whom are Republicans; two members are listed as unaffiliated. They are appointed by the Town Council to serve a 3-year term.