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Councilwoman Kilpatrick urges apology, asks council to 'bring decorum back'
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Summary
Councilwoman Kilpatrick introduced a resolution (R26-019) asking the New Castle County Council to apologize to the public for lapses in meeting decorum and to recommit to procedural rules; members debated amending date references and expanding the resolution to cover all council meetings.
Councilwoman Kilpatrick read Resolution R26-019, saying the council should apologize to the public for a perceived deterioration in conduct and procedural order. "I believe that we need to apologize to them," Kilpatrick said, urging that the council model respectful behavior.
The resolution, presented during the Finance Committee, calls for restoring decorum and cites longstanding rules that govern legislative bodies. Kilpatrick framed the measure as a way to preserve public trust and quoted Sharon Shannon Tiberi: "Bring decorum back." She said rules ensure orderly discussion and fairness and that the council's tone matters to constituents.
Members debated amendments to the draft. Councilman Carter argued against singling out a specific date and proposed removing targeted references so the apology would apply broadly rather than call out a single meeting. "We either do this because it needs to be done for everything or we cite all the dates," Carter said, urging the removal of the date line.
Other members asked that the resolution be broadened to cover all council meetings rather than a single committee or personnel meeting. Several council members asked to be added as cosponsors after those changes were proposed.
The committee recorded no formal vote on the substitute language in the transcript; chair and staff agreed to revise the text to remove the single-date reference and to add cosponsors as requested. The next formal action on the resolution will depend on the amended text and how council floor management proceeds.
