Howard County Council votes to close June 8 meeting to discuss personnel matters

The Howard County Council voted unanimously on June 8 to close its special meeting so members could discuss personnel matters and consult with legal counsel, Chair Opal Jones said.

Chair Opal Jones opened the session and announced the meeting was being held in person and via Webex. Reading from the statute, she said “there is a need to meet in a closed session on June 8 today under Maryland code general provisions section 3, 305(b)(1) and (7).” She said the topics would include performance, discipline and removal of one or more board members and “to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice on a legal matter.”

Jones then moved that the meeting be closed in accordance with the cited sections of the Annotated Code of Maryland. A second was recorded in the transcript but the speaker identifying the second was not specified. The administrator was asked to call the vote; the transcript records Chair Jones, Miss Rigby, Miss Young, Miss Walsh and Mister Youngman each responding “Yes.” The motion passed and the council adjourned the special meeting to go into closed session.

The chair told online viewers the live stream would end as the meeting moved into closed session. The council also stated the meeting would conclude at the end of the closed session.

No additional details about the personnel matters to be discussed, the identity of any specific board members, or the expected length of the closed session were provided on the public record in the transcript.