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Council schedules June hearing on personnel policy; manager reports halted email-forwarding security issue
Summary
Council agreed to hold a public hearing in June on the personnel policy after Council Member Sweeney raised substantive and editorial concerns; Town Manager Denton also reported and said he halted a forwarding rule that sent town emails to a personal Gmail account after IT flagged phishing attempts.
The Stanley Town Council directed staff to schedule a public hearing at its June meeting to consider amendments to the personnel policy adopted in December 2025 after Council Member Brendan Sweeney raised concerns about grammar, formatting and substantive provisions, including Section 5.6 (Political Activity Restricted).
Sweeney asked the council to allow public review and proposed that any amendments be voted on in July. He cited subsequent legal research, including a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling referenced in discussion, and the Town Clerk said the NC League of Municipalities HR consultant had recommended revisions for compliance. The Town Attorney advised council members to submit proposed changes through the Town Manager for HR review; no formal vote was taken on policy changes.
Separately, Town Manager Steven Denton reported a security incident in which a rule forwarding town emails to a personal Gmail account (set up by Council Member Sweeney using the Thunderbird client) was identified and halted by IT. Denton said the rule was stopped before any damage occurred and that the town had received several phishing attempts during the period; he reminded members that the content, not the device, determines public-record status and highlighted legal and operational risks of conducting town business on personal accounts. Council directed staff to proceed with recommended administrative steps.
