Royalty breaks city council’s tie vote on meeting procedures proposal

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

COUNCILMAN FRANCIS LYDIAN

Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 1:15 a.m. — A tie vote broken by Bardstown Mayor John Royalty has settled — for now — a dispute among members of the city council about how its meetings are conducted.

At the March 10 council meeting, Councilman Francis Lydian suggested the council modify the 2013 municipal order that directs how its meetings are conducted. At prior council meetings, Lydian has complained that Royalty was changing meeting procedures by adding language to council meetings that is not present in the 2013 order.

Since the Jan. 28 meeting where Royalty was strongly criticized for missing the local Martin Luther King Jr. event, public comment at council meetings has been limited to comments that specifically pertain to city-related business. Lydian has repeatedly challenged that change, and earlier this month asked then-City Attorney Bruce Reynolds to help him draft the changes to the municipal order.

While members of the council said they understood Lydian’s complaint, the council was divided on the merits of the proposed changes.

COUNCILMAN FRED HAGAN

“I don’t think we need to change the municipal order,” Councilman Bobby Simpson said. He recalled the incident that led to the creation of the 2013 municipal order in which then-Mayor Bill Sheckles was berated at a council meeting by a member of the public.

“I don’t think the mayor or a councilman deserves to be talked to in that manner,” he said. “As far as being able to address something a constituent brings up, I don’t need a municipal order to address it.”

Councilman Fred Hagan said there’s no reason why a member of the council needs a municipal order to answer a question from the public at a meeting if he or she choses to do so.

Hagan noted that the council has plenty on its plate: annexation, the 2015-16 budget, interlocal agreements regarding the dispatch board and recreation department, zoning amendments, fire department merger, property tax rates and more.

“Those are all our responsiblity to work on,” he said. “There are 13,000 people in Bardstown, and I suspect they want us to be working on all those things.”

Hagan suggested leaving things alone and starting work on the other business the council needs to address. “Let’s live with this and get on to the more important stuff.”

City Clerk Barbie Bryant noted that the municipal order does not restrict what may appear on the council’s monthly agenda. Financial reports, ordinances, and other items are not mentioned in the municipal order, but are required for the council to do its business, she said.

Royalty asked for a vote to put the matter to rest. “We have to get back to city business and doing what the public expects us to do,” he said. “We can’t tie up three more months dealing with this municipal order.”

Councilmen Bobby Simpson, Fred Hagan and Bill Buckman voted against the changes, and Councilmen Roland Williams and Francis Lydian and Councilwoman Kecia Copeland voted in favor of it. Royalty broke the tie with his vote against the changes.

That hopefully put this to rest, and we can move forward with city business, Royalty said.

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