BOSSIER COUNCIL NEEDS TO EXPLAIN VOTES AT MEETINGS AND AFTERWARDS

It’s like watching a line of penguins walking on an iceberg.
Bossier council members meet in an anteroom before meetings and walk out in line to the council chambers.
When the meeting is over, they line up and walk back to the anteroom.

Votes are taken with no discussion and very, very rarely with questions by council members. Votes are not explained on the record.
Questions from the media after a meeting are generally stonewalled.
Some say it’s the “Bossier way.”

Obviously, council members line up their votes before the meeting, ignoring the underlying principles of the Open Meetings Law.

Dissenting opinions by citizenry are not tolerated, and media members are considered to be persona non grata.
Some say the votes by the Council on Tuesday to appoint Scott Irwin as interim council member was motivated by the desire to have his financial expertise during the budgeting sessions.

Similarly, they say that the failure to confirm Shane Cheatham as chief administrative officer (CAO) was one based upon his lack of expertise as a business manager, not as a slam on his personality or a slap in the face of new Mayor Tommy Chandler.

This group points to the dismissal of Pam Glorioso as the CAO and the recent resignation of a chief financial manager as evidence of a bare cupboard in the Chandler administration.

So there you have it.
Critics of the actions on Tuesday say it’s the old guard trying to keep control.

Those who support the decisions made on Tuesday say it is for the good of Bossier and to protect Chandler from a bad decision.
There is a better way to handle government business, but it’s not the “Bossier way.” Hopefully, that changes soon.