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Newport News council enters closed session on appointments, later certifies board appointees
Summary
The Newport News City Council held a closed meeting under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act to discuss prospective appointees and evaluations and later voted to certify the appointees to boards and commissions.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — At a June 10 work session, the Newport News City Council voted to convene a closed meeting under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act to consider prospective candidates for appointments to boards and commissions and to review performance evaluations of certain city appointees. After the closed session the council certified its appointees by a subsequent public vote.
Councilman Long moved that the council meet in closed session under Va. Code § 2.2-3711(A)(1) for “discussion, consideration, or interview of prospective candidates for appointment” and for evaluation of city council appointees including the city manager, city attorney, city clerk, and city auditor. The motion was seconded and the council called the roll; the motion to enter closed session carried by recorded vote.
Following the closed session, council members returned to open session and made a certification that, to the best of each member’s knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed session. The council then moved to certify the appointees to the boards and commissions discussed in closed session; the motion to certify passed on a roll call with five yes votes and no opposing votes.
The transcript identifies the statutory basis for the closed session as the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Va. Code § 2.2-3711(A)(1)). Specific names of the appointees and details of the personnel evaluations discussed in closed session were not disclosed during the public session; the certification motion and the subsequent roll call were recorded in the meeting minutes.
Votes and motions
- Motion to enter closed session under Va. Code § 2.2-3711(A)(1) — mover: Councilman Long — outcome: approved (recorded roll call indicated the motion carried). - Motion to certify compliance with the Virginia FOIA regarding the closed session — outcome: approved (recorded vote carried; roll call recorded as 5–0).
