Bossier City Council meetings have a well-deserved reputation of being closed shop meetings.
Seemingly all key issues are discussed behind closed doors or not discussed at all.
With the exception of Councilman Jeffrey Darby, council members rarely if ever ask questions about agenda items or for that matter ANYTHING happening in the city.
Watching paint dry or grass grow is more exciting than attending what appears to be well-rehearsed meetings that rarely last over 45 minutes.
All this will probably change on July 1 when Tommy Chandler is sworn in as mayor and the new council, which will have two new faces (Chris Smith and Vince Maggio).
The council's procedural rules provide that the terms of the council president and vice-president expire on July 1.
Thus an election of new officers SHOULD occur on that day, not at the first council meeting on July 6.
It is very unlikely that current council president David Montgomery will be re-elected to that position. Current council vice-president Don "Bubba" Williams will probably be elected president.
The council should also appoint--either on July 1 or July 6--an interim council representative from south Bossier.
Shane "Cheeto" Cheatham won that election but will take office as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for Chandler.
The council passed a resolution on Tues. May 18 setting a special election to fill this post on Oct. 9.
Other expected changes which should affect the tenor of council meetings will be the appointment of Charles Jacob as city attorney.
Current Mayor Lo Walker has a quiet demeanor and rarely comments at council meeting. Its even more rare for current CAO Glorioso to be involved in any council discussions.
Both Chandler and Cheatham have out-going personalities. One can expect that both will be much more vocal at council meetings than their predecessors.
Williams is expected to run council meetings in a more people friendly fashion compared to the autocratic persona of Montgomery.
Currently council members generally arrive right on time for meetings and quickly depart the chambers with little to no time or tolerance for interaction with the media. Hopefully, this will change come July.
Since Chandler's election the media has become much more focused on the council meetings. This can be expected to continue if not expand when the new kids on the block take office in July.
Bossier City has long had the reputation of being the free state of Bossier, with special rules and compliance/non-compliance with government laws and regulations.
This is also expected to change, and in fact it started at the Tues council meeting. An agenda item was removed after objection by the media to non-compliance with the Open Meetings law.
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.