Is Information Leaking From Closed Council Meetings in Princeton?

Information from Princeton Council’s closed sessions may be leaking, and now some officials do not want to meet in closed session until an attorney can clarify the confidentiality required.

Mayor Liz Lempert addressed the issue at Council Meeting on Monday, after Council Member Patrick Simon made a motion to add a closed session to the meeting agenda. Itms to be discussed included AvalonBay litigation and negotiations with Princeton University, Simon said.

Lempert said some of her colleagues have approached her with concerns.

Council President Bernie Miller expressed his reservations.

“I’m concerned that not all of us share a common understanding of what a closed session really is,” Miller said. “I’m reluctant to participate in further closed sessions until we get an understanding of closed sessions.”

Lempert and Council Member Heather Howard said Council has a fiduciary responsibility to Princeton taxpayers. For example, if information leaks about the town’s negotiating strategy with Princeton University, or a personnel issue becomes public, that could cost taxpayers money through a weakened bargaining position or a possible lawsuit.

No one on Council objected to inviting an attorney for a training session.

But Council Member Jo Butler said she was concerned because there are pressing issues that need to be discussed.  And she said bringing an an attorney “feels like an effort towards less transparency in our government, not more.”

Council Member Jenny Crumiller said she and her colleagues had discussed the issue in their last closed session and agreed not to speak out of turn. What more was required, she wondered.

Following the discussion, Simon made a motion for a closed session, which was seconded by Butler. Butler, Simon and Crumiller voted in favor of a closed session, but Howard, Miller and Lance Liverman voted no. Lempert broke the tie with a no vote, so the Council did not go into executive session.

The tentative plan is to have an attorney train Council on procedures for closed sessions at a public meeting on Oct. 22. The next closed session of Council could then take place on Oct. 28.