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East Bethel council dismisses vague complaint that mayor violated Robert's Rules of Order
Summary
The City Council dismissed a complaint alleging the mayor failed to follow Robert's Rules of Order, finding the filing too vague and advising the complainant may resubmit with specifics.
The East Bethel City Council on June 23 dismissed a complaint alleging the mayor failed to follow Robert's Rules of Order.
The complaint, submitted by the same complainant who filed a separate IUP complaint, alleged the mayor did not protect the rights of council members or run meetings in an orderly fashion. The city attorney, Mr. Mundell, described Robert's Rules as a manual of parliamentary procedure intended to govern members of a body and said the complaint did not clearly specify which actions by the mayor violated those rules.
"At this point, you can look at it and say, either we want to keep it open because we think there's something there ... or, frankly, this is just not a big deal," Mundell advised, recommending the council not set a pattern of leaving vague complaints open indefinitely. Councilmembers expressed a desire for the complainant to identify specific incidents; one councilmember proposed dismissal, and the council moved to dismiss the matter.
The attorney noted a complainant always has the ability to lodge additional complaints and can resubmit with more detail; meritless or harassing repeated filings could become an enforcement matter but had not been established here.
