New Castle County personnel committee approves minutes, holds executive session for annual HR training

The New Castle County Personnel Committee on Jan. 21, 2025, approved the minutes of the committee's September 17 meeting and voted to go into an executive session for the purpose of conducting annual human resources personnel training for council members, including the dissemination of information and documents described in the meeting as excluded from FOIA.

The action to approve the minutes was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. Committee members then moved to convene an executive session; those participating remotely were prompted to join the closed session by the meeting host. The committee returned from the executive session and the chair stated that "no votes were taken and no actions were taken." The meeting then moved to other business, heard no public comments, and adjourned.

Committee roll call at the start of the meeting listed Kevin Kaneko, George Smiley, Dee Durham, John Cartier, Janet Kilpatrick, Brandon Toole and David Carter as present. The chair noted an online participant identified as Jay Street and said Councilman Sheldon and Councilman Tackett were en route via separate Zoom connections. Legislative assistant Mary Lee Murphy served as the meeting's minute taker.

The executive session was described on the record as a training session for council members on human resources matters that would include dissemination of documents the chair said were excluded from FOIA. No additional details about the materials, their legal basis beyond the meeting's reference to FOIA, or any follow-up actions were stated on the public record.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and approved by voice vote.