Hearing for reprimanded councilmember tonight

A public hearing will be held tonight for an Electric City council member who wants to answer her reprimand in public.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, April 27) in the city council chambers.

Councilmember Birdie Hensley had asked for a public hearing after she was reprimanded by Mayor John Nordine II and the city council for making inquiries of other agencies, suggesting she was doing so on behalf of the council.

Tonight’s hearing will not take input from the public, but will outline what city officials see as the problem and allow Hensley to speak on the matter.

The legal issue is called “ultra vires,” meaning acting outside of the powers or authority allowed by law. The phrase is Latin for “beyond the powers.”

Hensley had communicated with the State Auditor’s Office and the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce, suggesting, city officials stated, that she indicated she was doing so on behalf of the council.

Hensley claimed that she was just trying to get information on issues the council was dealing with.

The public may attend the hearing.

Hensley invoked the state’s Open Public Meetings Act to get the issue heard in public, rather than in an executive session of the council.