Kendra Joseph the Shreveport City Clerk has just resigned her position.

Now the Council does not have a clerk.

The Shreveport City Charter provides that the council clerk is in charge of that office. This means the council clerk will supervise the Director of Council Affairs once hired.

Joseph was hired by a secret process spearheaded by council president James Green.

This time the Council should follow good government principles:

a. delay vote on Director of Council Affairs

b. have the city Human Resources Office advertise the clerk’s position.

c. have this office screen the clerk candidates for the Council.

d. send to the Council the names/vita of qualified candidates for the position.

e. publish the names/vita for public review/comment before council action.

f. establish by council vote the interview and vote process.

g. have the interviews and voting in an open meeting properly noticed.

To do less is irresponsible.

Shreveporters should urge all council members to follow this process.

And before the Director of Council Affairs is considered by the council, the following article should be reviewed and seriously considered by council members.

WHAT DON'T SHREVEPORT AND BOSSIER COUNCIL MEMBERS UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW?

Goodness, it seems that too many of the council members of both the Shreveport City Council and the Bossier City Council have not read or do not understand the Louisiana Open Meetings Law.

Worse yet, maybe they have the impression that they are immune from these requirements.

There's really no excuse.

The Shreveport City Council has four returning members and a former Caddo Commissioner in its body of seven.

The Bossier City Council has four veteran council members in its group of seven.

Two recent incidents are evidence that these bodies or some of their members certainly need a refresher course in the Open Meetings Law or maybe a special tutoring session.

The first was the effort by Shreveport City Councilman Alan Jackson to have secret meetings of three panels of the council and staff to interview the six applicants for the new position of director of council affairs that he ramrodded through the council.

Thankfully, after a very concerted effort by yours truly including the circulating of a petition for a restraining order to prevent the interviews and intercession by Shreveport's interim city attorney, the majority of the council, including the council clerk, who is an attorney, decided to comply with the mandates of the Open Meetings Law.

Now the interviews will be in public meetings at the Monday, Feb. 27, administrative conference/work session and an open vote at the regular council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

For the record, the Caddo Commission selected its clerk in an open meeting, and the Commission also selected the registrar of voters in a public meeting.

The council has not in an open meeting decided the format of the interviews/questions to be asked on Monday nor the voting procedure. Just important details, but whatever!

So much for Shreveport, at least for now.

Now let’s travel across the river to the Free State of Bossier, where many believe the United States Constitution does not have effect, much less the Louisiana Open Meetings Law.

The Tuesday, Feb. 21, Bossier City Council meeting drew a large crowd concerned over an ordinance to reduce funding to SporTran by $400,000. These included a contingent of SporTran officials, Louisiana Association of the Blind president/CEO and staff, BPCC staff and students, the Bossier Council on Aging executive director, the Bossier NAACP president and members, as well as concerned citizens.

This large crowd was concerned about the impact of the funding cut, and the resultant reduction of SporTran services that would inconvenience travel to and from Bossier City by residents on both sides of the river.

The funding ordinance was first on the agenda. And then, surprise, guess what happened?

It was pulled with a statement by Councilman David Montgomery that the Bossier public information officer would read a statement of explanation after the meeting.

Yes, not at that time, but an hour later when the council meeting adjourned.

How convenient for the council members and inconvenient for those attending interested in that agenda item only.

This statement was prepared before the meeting, reading in part that "after much discussion, the city council feels that the citizens are best served by the removal of the agenda item, and by the request of a detailed analysis of SporTran's financials in terms of their agreement with the city of Bossier."

Hmmm ... when was there "much discussion"?

Was it before the meeting among several of the council members?

This group usually convenes in an ante room and then at the appointed hour march like penguins in line to the dais and then repeat the procedure afterwards.

Tuesday, Councilman Chris Smith was in the chambers about 15 minutes before the meeting started. The other six marched in right at 3 p.m.

When confronted about the decision after the meeting, one councilman said, "I did not know about it until I got here for the meeting."

Obviously, the "much discussion" had been done before the meeting in contravention of the Open Meetings Law.

But then, it Is the Free State of Bossier.

Both the Shreveport and Bossier city councils should read the open meetings law, the excellent Louisiana Legislative Auditor Summary (CITE), and /or have a tutorial by their respective city attorneys.

There are no excuses for non-compliance with the Open Meetings Law, period!