NATCHEZ, Miss. – The state attorney general has not yet issued an opinion on whether Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson can be counted to constitute a quorum for city aldermen to meet and take action. The Board of Aldermen has requested such an opinion.
A Listen Up Y’all article posted last Thursday inaccurately reported that the opinion had already been provided to the board.
City attorney Bryan Callaway told the mayor and the six aldermen on Tuesday that previous opinions from the state’s chief legal officer support his contention that four aldermen are not needed for the board and mayor to legally meet and conduct business.
“This is not the first time the AG has addressed what constitutes a quorum in a city controlled by a special charter,” Callaway said Friday to clarify what was discussed at Tuesday’s board meeting. “According to prior AG opinions, as cited in my request, the special charter controls, not a (state) statute and not a (city) ordinance. Therefore, a quorum is three aldermen and the mayor.”
The legal question stems from an Oct. 14 meeting, when the mayor and three aldermen met and decided to order the closure of a Franklin Street nightclub deemed a public nuisance.
While three other aldermen were absent, Callaway said the mayor can be counted to determine if there’s the required quorum, or majority, to officially convene.
Since the meeting, Alderman Billie Joe Frazier has insisted state law mandates a fourth alderman be present. “You can have a quorum (with the mayor), but you can’t take official action,” he said Tuesday.
“That’s not how I read it,” Callaway said, noting Frazier’s assertion “flies in the face” of the attorney general’s previous opinions defining what a board quorum is.
The Board of Aldermen voted Oct. 23 to ask Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office to issue an opinion on whether a majority of board members must be present to legally meet and take votes. They’re awaiting that opinion to be issued.
Gibson snapped-called the Oct. 14 board meeting—on a Saturday—after a riotous melee in and around Truth Lounge on Franklin Street occurred that necessitated responses from the Natchez Police Department and Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Aldermen Valencia Hall, Sarah Carter Smith, and Curtis Moroney agreed with the mayor to order the nightclub be closed. However, Adams County Circuit Court Judge Debra Blackwell later nullified the municipal order.
Truth Lounge’s owners sued Gibson and others over this. Rickey Banks and David Haywood allege the mayor has wrongfully tried to put them out of business and cause financial damage. A hearing has been scheduled Tuesday for the lawsuit filed in Adams County Circuit Court.
Graves said a hearing is set for Nov. 21 before Sixth District Circuit Court Judge Carmen Drake concerning an emergency restraining order granted by Circuit Court Judge Debra Blackwell on Oct. 19, which allowed Truth Lounge to reopen after the mayor and aldermen ordered it to close. Blackwell ordered the City of Natchez to immediately cease and desist with any efforts to close the Truth Lounge until further notice from the court. “We would like to address all things concerning the city at our Nov. 21 hearing,” Graves said. “Our hope is they continue to operate and the city and the surrounding community all agree these guys have done things the right way and will continue to do that and be a good neighbor.”
Read more at: https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2023/11/16/truth-lounge-owners-seek-damages-from-gibson-unnamed-defendants-in-lawsuit/
The hearing set for Tuesday Nov. 21st is concerning the emergency restraining order.
“We would like to address all things concerning the city at our Nov. 21 hearing.” So this hearing is not about the lawsuit filed against Dan Gibson, only the City et al. Evidently the City Attorney was wrong when he said that lawsuit was moot.