Meeting participants say staff instructed to fill board vacancy after closed-session discussion; meeting adjourned

Meeting participants returned from a closed session and announced that, during the closed session, they discussed with a department head the filling of a resignation on one of the department’s boards and instructed staff to proceed.

The announcement, made after the meeting resumed in open session, said: “During the closed session, we had a discussion with our department head regarding, the filling of a resignation on 1 of their their boards, and we have instructed staff to proceed as we discussed.” The remark attributed in the transcript to a staff member did not specify which board or identify any candidate or timeline.

No formal public vote or motion on the appointment was recorded in the portion of the transcript provided. The instruction to staff was presented as the conclusion of the closed-session discussion rather than as a separate formal action taken in open session.

Shortly after that announcement, a participant asked for a motion to adjourn. A motion and a second were recorded in the transcript, followed by a voice vote. The chair or presiding participant called, “All in favor, say aye,” and the transcript records the response, “Aye. All.” The transcript does not include individual vote tallies or the names of the motion’s mover and seconder.

Details such as which departmental board has the vacancy, the identity of the resigning member, any timeline for advertising or appointing a replacement, and whether the appointment will require a future public vote were not specified in the provided transcript.