Council schedules working session for Nov. 16

The Libby City Council has scheduled a second November meeting for 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16 at Libby City Hall. The council had been holding two meetings per month since March 2008, but those additional meetings have been canceled by Libby Mayor Doug Roll in recent months.

Council members Gary Neff and Allen Olsen have proposed several items for the meeting’s agenda, many of which were submitted for previous meeting agendas but were ignored by Roll when he prepared the agenda for posting prior to the meeting.

“On Oct. 14 I requested the following items be placed on the Oct. 19 regular meeting agenda,” said Neff. “The misuse and abuse of office by City Attorney R. Allan Payne, the ethics complaint submitted by city resident D.C. Orr at the Oct. 5, 2015, council meeting, a mandatory second monthly council meeting and the public posting and notification of city business to be the Wednesday prior to council meetings.”

Roll canceled the Oct. 19 meeting without explanation. Montana law and the Libby City Charter require the City Council to meet on the first Monday of every month, but does not require any additional meetings even though the council voted in March 2008 to hold a second meeting every month, on the third Tuesday. The council’s move was never codified into city ordinance or municipal code, nor was it instituted into the council’s rules of procedure.

After the Oct. 19 meeting was canceled, Neff asked for the items, along with several others, to be placed on the Nov. 2 regular meeting agenda. The request was sent via email to Roll Oct. 25.

“On Oct. 25 I requested the following items be placed on the Nov. 2 meeting agenda: A resolution establishing ethical codes for the City Attorney, an amendment to Ordinance 1517, establishing a second mandatory council meeting each month, the construction of a new contract for the City Attorney, a discussion of the contempt of court motion against the city, public posting and notification of city business 96 hours prior to meetings and a report on the progress of the union negotiations.”

In addition to the items requested by Neff, Councilman Olsen said he has requested a discussion regarding the city’s policy for advertising. He expressed concern that the city pays for large advertisements for items such as a retirement party for former Clerk and Treasurer Glena Hook and a leaf removal project, but purchases only very small advertisements for open positions such as the City Judge.

Neff said Roll needs to stop abusing his authority and honor his obligations to the people of Libby.

“Roll is abusing his authority and ignoring his responsibilities,” Neff said. “I have been trying to discuss and get answers on the above items for quite some time. The contempt of court matter is pressing. The City Attorney refuses to address the council and the mayor refuses to allow discussion on it at council meetings. Why? The public posting item was brought up by a city resident. Why won’t the mayor allow the resident’s item to be discussed? Perhaps a new City Attorney contract and ethics are unimportant to the mayor. I don’t know.”

Neff confirmed that he submitted all of the previously-submitted items to Roll for inclusion on the Nov. 16 agenda.

Olsen said he hopes Roll’s promise to hold the Nov. 16 meeting is a sign of better things to come for Libby.

“Let’s hope Doug is mature enough to move on and let us conduct city business,” he said. “We’ve got to give Libby something positive to look forward to and start moving this town forward.”