A College Park city council meeting became chaos as the council members doubled down on their opposition to the mayor and appeared to rush voting on agenda items.
There were heated exchanges during a regular meeting on Monday. Councilmembers randomly left the chambers, refused Mayor Bianca Motley Broom’s efforts to speak on motions, and removed her presiding role over the meeting by passing the duty to Mayor Pro Tem Roderick Gay.
The action regarding the mayor’s presiding role, which was suggested by City Attorney Winston Denmark, was a violation of the city charter, Motley Broom told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A minimal amount of city business was addressed during the meeting, in which council members voted to set a time limit of two hours.
Council members moved 11 of 33 items that the public expected to be discussed onto a consent agenda for approval under a single vote.
The meeting was expected to run long because the City Council had not held a meeting since June when residents voiced frustrations with council members over transparency issues, and inefficiency in managing city affairs. Officials canceled the regular meeting scheduled for July.
Nearly all of Monday’s two-hour meeting was devoted to public comments and city proclamations.
In the final 15 minutes, Motley Broom was prevented from completing a question regarding a consent agenda item for electronic billing and payment services.
“The only question that I have is, have we explored another means for payment for our residents that could be less expensive,” Motley Broom said.
In raised voices, the council members and the city attorney said the mayor was out of order in trying to discuss the consent agenda items.
“…The mayor is completely out of order, just totally out order and we can’t conduct a meeting this way,” Councilman Joe Carn said.
Last March, Motley Broom filed a federal lawsuit against the city alleging that her First Amendment rights have been violated by a new ordinance that limits her ability to participate in discussions on agenda items.
While trying to clarify a motion on Monday, Motley Broom was admonished for speaking by Carn and Councilwoman Jamelle McKenzie.
“Mayor if you can behave yourself until the end of this meeting,” Carn said as he went on to clarify the motion.
Motley Broom continued to try to speak but Carn, Gay and McKenzie left the chambers and then returned within a minute.
“We’re here to do the work and bring different perspectives ...” the mayor told council. “I understand that some would want me to conduct myself in a certain way but I’m not four-years-old and I’m going to continue to speak.”
But the mayor was unable to proceed and moments later was usurped as the presiding officer of the meeting. In the midst of exchanges, Councilwoman Tracey Arnold, who had been silent, left.
In the final minute of the meeting, the council members rushed the approval of a request to change the direction of traffic on a portion of John Calvin Avenue.
Motley Broom stated on her website that because of how the meeting ended, she has “concerns about the validity of the votes that took place.”
Resident Julie McGouirk said she believes the council members conduct at the meeting were preplanned to avoid discussion of agenda times.
“We need our state legislators to start listening and paying attention (to council meetings) because they have received many, many letters from residents in College Park,” McGouirk said.
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