More stupid

The unfolding disaster that is Durham's search for a new city manager is taking yet another wrong turn, according to the N&O. It's not bad enough that the kabuki theater presentation of the "three finalists" last month has not led to an offer, and that the mayor is continuously dropping hints that Council might have someone else in mind. (To be honest, i don't think that presenting the candidates to the public or the press during the hiring process is necessary, or even such a great idea. Although in Durham, it might serve the dual purpose of the citizenry meeting their potential managers, and the managers getting a taste of what their new life might actually be like. Perhaps that's what happened here. Maybe all three finalists decided that Durham wasn't where they wanted to be after all.)

No, dropping hints that none of the finalists may have been good enough, and dragging the process out far longer than is necessary may be minor concerns compared to Matt's news:

City Council members have not been taking minutes of their closed meetings to discuss who will be the next city manager, possibly a violation of state law.

And it might not be the only instance of the council running afoul of the open-meetings law, which says that "every public body shall keep full and accurate minutes of all official meetings, including any closed session."

Council member Diane Catotti said the city clerk usually leaves the room for closed sessions and said she doesn't know "if anyone's taking notes or not."

The City Council has entered closed session more than a half-dozen times in the past month to discuss the new manager.

"I'll be honest with you: We haven't taken any minutes," Mayor Bill Bell said. "It's because it's just been confidential personnel. We've kept it strictly among the council."

He said he didn't know the law required documenting closed sessions. "If I was aware of it, I would have been doing," that he said.

I don't know. I thought being aware of it was part of the job description, Mr. Mayor.

To be fair, Matt quotes the interim City Attorney as saying that a report that Council entered closed session to discuss personnel matters and "discussed the qualifications of the candidate" would be adequate to meet the letter of the law.

I wouldn't want to take that bet.