City Of Flint: Flint City Council Meetings Continue To Last Into Late-Night/early-Morning

Press release from the City of Flint:

October 13, 2021

Posted by: City of Flint News

FLINT, Michigan – Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced in May 2020 that City Hall department heads could be excused from City Council meetings after 9 p.m. and now that notice will be enforced.

After multiple attempts to work within the current structure of City Council meetings, City Hall department heads and City employees staff continue to be subjected to unreasonable work conditions that include egregious and abusive behavior toward them personally and professionally.

“City Council’s ability to manage meetings that limit the scope of debate when conversations shift off topic or become repetitive has not evolved, instead, it has gotten worse,” said Mayor Sheldon Neeley.

The City Administrator will now directly excuse department heads and other City employees from City Council meetings at 9:00 p.m.

Staff attending these meetings are critical members of City Hall providing service to the residents of Flint. However, City Council meetings start as early as 4:30 p.m. and most times last into the early morning hours of the next calendar day, impede on staff members’ ability to serve residents the following day rested and fully alert and impacting their mental health and well-being.

Mayor Neeley hopes that this decision will impress upon City Council to conduct more efficient and focused meetings, and hold their members accountable for the treatment of City employees.

This press release was produced by the City of Flint. The views expressed here are the author’s own.