At the February 3rd, 2009 meeting of the Greensboro City Council, blogger Ben Holder (the Troublemaker) spoke from the floor to ask that the city release information regarding the surreptitious recording of citizens by police three years ago.
In defense of governmental secrecy, city councilor T. Dianne Bellamy-Small said that city council had a closed session meeting with police chief Tim Bellamy and the citizens who were taped and that she recalled them saying that they didn't want the recordings released. (Video: at the 28:25 mark)
I requested the minutes from that meeting. Assistant City Manager Denise Turner replied: "We have not found that any such closed session minutes exist."
Are there no minutes of the meeting (a violation of state law) or did the meeting not take place? I have asked Turner if there is any record indicating that this meeting happened.
Afternote: City councilor Zack Matheny has proposed that the city council record all closed sessions. It is an incredibly sensible idea that should be approved and implemented post haste.
UPDATE: Ben Holder is reporting that one of the citizens surreptitiously recorded requested copies of the tapes made of her. Ben says she was told she could not have them. Welcome to the city of the lie.
UPDATE II: Assistant City Manager Denise Turner follows up to say that Bellamy-Small was referring to a closed meeting between Chief Bellamy and the citizens surreptitiously recorded and that the reporting of that meeting to City Council took place in "small group sessions."
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