At their first regularly scheduled meeting, the Hoover City Council, Mayor Nick Derzis and Charlie Waldrep, the city attorney, emphasized the city's renewed dedication to transparency. The tension and frustration that had marked the past year and a half were gone; in their place, a lighter tone and smiles all around.
"Before I start, I'd like to just comment to the council, I certainly look forward to working with you and to the outstanding things that we can accomplish together as a team," Derzis said at the start of the meeting.
Under the new rules, a public comment section has been added to the beginning of each meeting, allowing residents to speak on non-agenda items. Notably, it wasn't just a speaker talking to city leaders; he was talking with them. Replacing the blank stares of the last administration was a mayor who was engaged and responsive to the comments addressed to him.
Following the public comments but before the meeting began, Councilman Derrick Murphy inquired about the new policy on keeping minutes, hinting at forthcoming changes to address concerns that the previous administration had deliberately kept minutes vague. While the new policy, to be written by Councilman Robin Schultz, is still in progress, the City Clerk was asked to keep detailed, descriptive notes in preparation for the change.
At the end of the business portion of the meeting, Council President Casey Middlebrooks asked the city attorney to give an update on the council and mayor's request for the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts to conduct a forensic audit. The attorney informed the council that he had spoken with Rachel Riddle, the chief examiner, and that they had exchanged emails that day. He said they're setting up a conference call for later this week.
Councilman Robin Schultz noted that the council will resume streaming Planning and Zoning meetings.
"We will be back to pre-August 2022 streaming all the meetings that are important," Schultz said.
The council went into Executive Session at the end of the meeting to discuss safety and security measures related to the city.
The meeting can be viewed on The Hoover Channel's YouTube page.
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