In-person council meetings
The most recent Longview City Council meeting was done via telephone with repeated distractions due to technical issues. The last six months, most of the council members have taught school, operated an oral surgery practice, worked with customers, wholesalers and building officials, have flown regularly to various airports and more than half have been seen at retail stores or sitting in a restaurant.
While having City Council meetings via telephone may be legal, they are totally inappropriate and cannot replace the impact and dynamics of elected officials facing their constituents. There is no acceptable reason these meetings cannot be held at Maude Cobb following CDC guidelines.
The last couple of years, this City Council bypassed the purchasing department and began to lease most city vehicles from Enterprise Rent-a-Car. They also gave the city manager the authority to spend up to $250,000 without the approval of the council (the highest amount in the state). They loaned $600,000 of our tax dollars to a private company. The council has ignored an underfunded fire pension and has yet to address it. And last, allowing the director of LEDCO, the city manager and the city of Longview spokesperson to operate a Longview ISD charter school.
Open and public meetings are a cornerstone of our government and the public should always be allowed.
— Murray Moore, Longview
