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Town council refers time-sensitive bond-counsel matter to town administrator after brief unanimous-consent motion
Summary
The Little Compton Town Council voted 4–1 to refer a time-sensitive matter received from bond counsel to the town administrator and also used unanimous consent to place the item on the evening's agenda; the substance of the bond-counsel item was not discussed in open session.
The Little Compton Town Council on March 13 used unanimous consent to place a time-sensitive matter from bond counsel on the evening’s agenda and voted to refer the matter to the town administrator for immediate attention.
A councilor asked that the item be added to the agenda by unanimous consent, saying the matter required “immediate attention” from the bond counsel. The council then voted to refer the received matter to the town administrator for his review. The transcript records the procedural vote as 4 in favor and 1 opposed; the opposing councilor said he would vote no because he did not feel able to vote on an action he did not fully understand.
Councilors did not discuss the contents of the bond-counsel communication in open session; the motion’s text and the referral were the only actions recorded publicly at that time. The town administrator was tasked with reviewing the material and reporting back to the council.
How this matters: The referral places the matter with town staff for follow-up; because the council did not discuss the substance in public session, residents seeking details will need to await the town administrator’s briefing or a future council meeting where the item is taken up openly.
No legal or financial details of the bond-counsel communication were provided in the March 13 public record.
