As readers might be aware I have accused Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny of being in the business of selling incentive deals paid for by Greensboro taxpayers. In response to some of the questions asked by myself and others, Mr Matheny provided us with redacted notes from Greensboro City Council business meetings along with the following statement:
"If you review the closed session notes from November that were released, it shows that I had concerns and wasn't supporting it then."
There were 2 problems with Zack's answer: The first was that Zack introduced the resolution to Council that he said he didn't support. And the second? Everything that would support Zack's claim was redacted.
So I requested the City of Greensboro send me non redacted notes and today I got the following e-mail from the City of Greensboro today in reply to my request for non redacted council business notes:
"Dear Billy:
Thank you for your PIRT # 3354 request regarding Councilman Matheny’s e-mailed redacted closed session notes.
You had requested a copy of the non-redacted closed session notes from the Council business meetings on November 12, 2013, November 19, 2013 and January 21, 2014.
The Legal department have responded to your request saying that the “redacted portions of the minutes from the closed session on November 12, 2013 are not a public record in accordance with: N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11. Closed sessions. (a) Permitted Purposes. - It is the policy of this State that closed sessions shall be held only when required to permit a public body to act in the public interest as permitted in this section. A public body may hold a closed session and exclude the public only when a closed session is required: (3) To consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged. General policy matters may not be discussed in a closed session and nothing herein shall be construed to permit a public body to close a meeting that otherwise would be open merely because an attorney employed or retained by the public body is a participant. The public body may consider and give instructions to an attorney concerning the handling or settlement of a claim, judicial action, mediation, arbitration, or administrative procedure. If the public body has approved or considered a settlement, other than a malpractice settlement by or on behalf of a hospital, in closed session, the terms of that settlement shall be reported to the public body and entered into its minutes as soon as possible within a reasonable time after the settlement is concluded.
Redacted portions of the minutes from the closed sessions on November 19, 2013 and on January 21, 2014 are not a public record in accordance with: N.C.G.S § 160A-168. Privacy of employee personnel records. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 132-6 or any other general law or local act concerning access to public records, personnel files of employees, former employees, or applicants for employment maintained by a city are subject to inspection and may be disclosed only as provided by this section. For purposes of this section, an employee’s personnel file consists of any information in any form gathered by the city with respect to that employee and, by way of illustration but not limitation, relating to his application, selection or nonselection, performance, promotions, demotions, transfers, suspension and other disciplinary actions, evaluation forms, leave, salary, and termination of employment. As used in this section, "employee" includes former employees of the city. (b) The following information with respect to each city employee is a matter of public record: (1) Name. (2) Age. (3) Date of original employment or appointment to the service. (4) The terms of any contract by which the employee is employed whether written or oral, past and current, to the extent that the city has the written contract or a record of the oral contract in its possession. (5) Current position. (6) Title. (7) Current salary. (8) Date and amount of each increase or decrease in salary with that municipality. (9) Date and type of each promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension, separation, or other change in position classification with that municipality. (10) Date and general description of the reasons for each promotion with that municipality. (11) Date and type of each dismissal, suspension, or demotion for disciplinary reasons taken by the municipality. If the disciplinary action was a dismissal, a copy of the written notice of the final decision of the municipality setting forth the specific acts or omissions that are the basis of the dismissal. (12) The office to which the employee is currently assigned. (b1) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "salary" includes pay, benefits, incentives, bonuses, and deferred and all other forms of compensation paid by the employing entity. (b2) The city council shall determine in what form and by whom this information will be maintained. Any person may have access to this information for the purpose of inspection, examination, and copying, during regular business hours, subject only to such rules and regulations for the safekeeping of public records as the city council may have adopted. Any person denied access to this information may apply to the appropriate division of the General Court of Justice for an order compelling disclosure, and the court shall have jurisdiction to issue such orders. (c) All information contained in a city employee’s personnel file, other than the information made public by subsection (b) of this section, is confidential and shall be open to inspection only in the following instances: (1) The employee or his duly authorized agent may examine all portions of his personnel file except (i) letters of reference solicited prior to employment, and (ii) information concerning a medical disability, mental or physical, that a prudent physician would not divulge to his patient. (2) A licensed physician designated in writing by the employee may examine the employee’s medical record. (3) A city employee having super over the employee may examine all material in the employee’s personnel file. (4) By order of a court of competent jurisdiction, any person may examine such portion of an employee’s personnel file as may be ordered by the court. (5) An official of an agency of the State or federal government, or any political subdivision of the State, may inspect any portion of a personnel file when such inspection is deemed by the official having custody of such records to be inspected to be necessary and essential to the pursuance of a proper function of the inspecting agency, but no information shall be divulged for the purpose of assisting in a criminal prosecution (of the employee), or for the purpose of assisting in an investigation of (the employee’s) tax liability. However, the official having custody of such records may release the name, address, and telephone number from a personnel file for the purpose of assisting in a criminal investigation. (6) An employee may sign a written release, to be placed with his personnel file, that permits the person with custody of the file to provide, either in person, by telephone, or by mail, information specified in the release to prospective employers, educational institutions, or other persons specified in the release. (7) The city manager, with concurrence of the council, or, in cities not having a manager, the council may inform any person of the employment or nonemployment, promotion, demotion, suspension or other disciplinary action, reinstatement, transfer, or termination of a city employee and the reasons for that personnel action. Before releasing the information, the manager or council shall determine in writing that the release is essential to maintaining public confidence in the administration of city services or to maintaining the level and quality of city services. This written determination shall be retained in the office of the manager or the city clerk, and is a record available for public inspection and shall become part of the employee’s personnel file. (c1) Even if considered part of an employee’s personnel file, the following information need not be disclosed to an employee nor to any other person: (1) Testing or examination material used solely to determine individual qualifications for appointment, employment, or promotion in the city’s service, when disclosure would compromise the objectivity or the fairness of the testing or examination process. (2) Investigative reports or memoranda and other information concerning the investigation of possible criminal actions of an employee, until the investigation is completed and no criminal action taken, or until the criminal action is concluded. (3) Information that might identify an undercover law enforcement officer or a law enforcement informer. (4) Notes, preliminary drafts and internal communications concerning an employee. In the event such materials are used for any official personnel decision, then the employee or his duly authorized agent shall have a right to inspect such materials. (c2) The city council may permit access, subject to limitations they may impose, to selected personnel files by a professional representative of a training, research, or academic institution if that person certifies that he will not release information identifying the employees whose files are opened and that the information will be used solely for statistical, research, or teaching purposes. This certification shall be retained by the city as long as each personnel file examined is retained. (c3) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the Retirement Systems Division of the Department of State Treasurer may disclose the name and mailing address of former local governmental employees to domiciled, nonprofit organizations representing 2,000 or more active or retired State government, local government, or public school employees. (d) The city council of a city that maintains personnel files containing information other than the information mentioned in subsection (b) of this section shall establish procedures whereby an employee who objects to material in his file on grounds that it is inaccurate or misleading may seek to have the material removed from the file or may place in the file a statement relating to the material. (e) A public official or employee who knowingly, willfully, and with malice permits any person to have access to information contained in a personnel file, except as is permitted by this section, is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and upon conviction shall only be fined an amount not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). (f) Any person, not specifically authorized by this section to have access to a personnel file designated as confidential, who shall knowingly and willfully examine in its official filing place, remove or copy any portion of a confidential personnel file shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and upon conviction shall only be fined in the discretion of the court but not in excess of five hundred dollars ($500.00). (1975, c. 701, s. 2; 1981, c. 926, ss. 1-4; 1993, c. 539, ss. 1084, 1085; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2007-508, s. 7; 2008-194, s. 11(e); 2010-169, s. 18(f).)”
Please let me know if you need any additional information.
Sincerely,
Sarah
My reply:
Sarah,
Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, the closed session notes from the Council business meetings on November 12, 2013, November 19, 2013 and January 21, 2014 make no mention of any employee related issues as being part of the Council agendas for those dates. As a matter of fact, it is stated in the 11-19-2013 minutes that the discussion is about "location or expansion of industries or other businesses in Greensboro, including potential economic development incentives." The other notes contain similar language but no mention of employee issues.
Therefore it can only be assumed that the legal department of the City of Greensboro is covering up for Councilman Zack Matheny or someone else. Or they are in-fact, inept.
Please forward this e-mail to the legal department along with the following links:
Today's post: http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/04/zack-mathenys-wyndham-text-messages.html
Where the redacted minutes can be seen by the public: http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/03/zack-mathenys-wyndham-text-messages_15.html
Thanks
-Billy Jones
Sarah Healy has an impossible job. She works for pampas asses who believe themselves above the law, hide the truth, circumvent every effort to make the truth known and task her with making the truth available so that people like myself might make it available to the public. Whatever she is paid isn't enough.
Meanwhile, the City works to help drug dealers stay in business.
