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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Armed Guard, Cold Cuts, For Mayor's Secret Meeting

Mayor Nutter continues to lock reporters out of what they consider to be public meetings of City Council.  All but one of Council's 17 members are right now in a 14th floor conference room of the Municipal Services Building for a budget briefing by Nutter, who will make public tomorrow his plans to deal with $841 million gap in the city's five year financial plan.

City officials stationed an armed guard from the MSB's security staff outside the conference room and locked the door when reporters showed up on the 14th floor.  Other reporters were briefly forbidden to even take the elevator up to the 14th floor in the public building during business hours.

City Solicitor Shelley Smith, who has issued a legal opinion for Nutter saying the public can be barred from a briefing where a quorum of Council is present, denied a request this afternoon from the Daily News to allow reporters inside.  Most Council members cited Smith's opinion when asked if they were about to attend a public meeting.  "We're being told it isn't," Council President Anna Verna said as she entered. "We're not having a public meeting, according to the city solicitor," Councilman Bill Green said. "As long as the city solicitor says it's OK, it's OK with me," said Brian O'Neall, the Republican minority leader.

Nutter stood by the position that the meeting is briefing and not open to the public. "There will be no decisions made. We have to update the council on financial matters," Nutter added.

The secret meeting is rumored to last about three hours.  But don't feel too bad for the attendees.  The city's finances were flush enough to allow caterers to roll in a heaping platter of lunch meat, coleslaw, potato salad, rolls and soft drinks just before the conference room door was locked

Posted by Chris Brennan @ 4:45 PM  Permalink | 12 comments
Comments   
Posted 05:14 PM, 11/05/2008
Cromulents
Oh no, not coleslaw! Potato salad! City spending is clearly out of hand!
Posted 05:28 PM, 11/05/2008
Bill Penn
Seriously, flush enough to afford sandwiches? I know you are ticked about being excluded but you might want to look a bit harder for better mud to throw than "Oh my gosh, they ate sandwiches."
Comment removed.
Comment removed.
Posted 05:53 PM, 11/05/2008
JoeInTheKnow
Listen the lame attempt at humour aside ... what happened to Mayor Sunshine Act?
Posted 05:57 PM, 11/05/2008
PhillyKev72
So, carrying a weapon is ok with Nutter when it's by a guy suppressing the press, just not ordinary citizens concerned about their safety. Hypocrite. He was probably smoking a cigar in there too.
Posted 06:29 PM, 11/05/2008
JoeInTheKnow
PhillyKev, agreed ... where the heck is the outrage? If John Street did this Chris Satullo, Sandy Shea et al would be banging at the door. How long does this guy get a free pass!?!?!?!?
Posted 06:51 PM, 11/05/2008
anon
Whatever happened to "transparent government"?
Posted 07:36 PM, 11/05/2008
give me liberty or death
nutter is a disappointment just like barry will be to all the LIVs
Posted 09:06 PM, 11/05/2008
natedog
armed guard is to ensure wee willie goode doesn't leave for some good old "take-out"
Posted 09:54 PM, 11/05/2008
Jim C.
cole slaw-gate
Posted 10:14 PM, 11/05/2008
Dean1
Nutter is a complete disappointment. Mr Reform is just like Fast Eddie, as he's surely getting some kind of kickback to put a slots-only "poverty draw" casino two blocks from Independence Hall, 2 blocks from Chinatown, and 3 blocks from Washington Square. Way to trash the area where the country was founded and our most attractive tourist spot - makes zero sense and is probably the worst proposal I've ever heard. He may be even worse than Rendell because this city actually had some nice momentum going (sans the murder rate) before this jacka*s became mayor.
12 comments
About Chris Brennan and Catherine Lucey
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.

Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002. Since then she has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. For the past two years, she covered the 2007 mayoral election. Now that the battle is over, she has moved down to the City Hall bureau where she will report on the Nutter administration.

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Catherine Lucey
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