City attorney apologies for board Says meeting should have been public

By ZACK MILLS

The Gallatin News-Examiner

February 11, 2005

             WHITE HOUSE, Tenn. -- There is an air of displeasure among some residents of White House and Sumner County who feel members of the White House Board of Mayor and Aldermen were out of line for not giving public notice of a meeting held last week, and for not allowing public access to the meeting, which state law mandates.

            “It’s the public of White House that should be able to know about these meetings,” said Helen Redding, owner of Small Wonders Enrichment Center, 3033, Highway 31 W.

            “It’s definitely our right as citizens to know when these meetings are and what they’re about, no matter what it is. That gives you the feeling that something is going on,” she said. “And, that’s not a very good feeling.”

            Resident Donna Green agrees.

            “I think if it’s supposed to be made public, then it needs to be public,” said Green, who owns White House Cafe. “We have a right to know. They need to follow the guidelines. They need to follow the rules just like we have to follow the rules.

“          “If there’s a personnel issue that doesn’t need to be made public, then it needs to be behind closed doors,” Green said. “But if it’s city business (it should be made public).”

            Last Thursday all four of the city¹s aldermen attended a meeting at City Hall along with Mayor Stan McAfee and City Administrator Tim Williams. City Attorney David Amonette was not present for the meeting.

            Tennessee’s Sunshine Law prohibits city officials meeting without prior public notice or behind closed doors.

            A News Examiner reporter was asked to leave after showing up at the meeting.

            The reporter advised McAfee and the aldermen about the state¹s Sunshine Law

            McAfee told the reporter that the officials were meeting about a personnel matter and they again asked him to leave.

            However, Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said there is no exception in the law for meetings on personnel matters.

            “How are they going to report the news if reporters get kicked out of the meeting?” resident Savannah Dickie said.

            “Isn’t that what reporters are for, to let them know what¹s going on in their community?”

            City officials have a responsibility to make sure the community is informed about issues that affect them, Dickie said.

            “They’re not doing their job. I thought they were there for the public,” she said.

            Amonette, the city¹s attorney, was at the Gallatin Rotary Club’s annual banquet Thursday night and was not in attendance at the meeting. He said if he had been at the meeting in White House, he would have advised city officials that it was open to the public.

            “I think it was a mistake,” Amonette said. “The media should have been allowed public access. There was just some misunderstandings with members of the board of mayor and aldermen about whether this was a matter that could have been dealt with without media scrutiny. They just made a mistake and they¹re very sorry for it,² Amonette said.

            Mylinda Ray, also of White House, said by meeting in secret it leaves too much room for suggestion from the public.

            “I don’t think they need to keep it a secret. It looks like they’re guilty of something,” Ray said.

            Springfield resident Barbara Wingfield, owner of White House Barbara Shop on Highway 76 in White House, said she believes Mayor Stan McAfee is doing the best job he can do in the city. But she does not agree with last week’s meeting.

“A public meeting should be open to the public,” Wingfield said.