(Memphis) Memphis City Council’s chairman Ed Ford Jr. knows the group has a problem when it comes to following the rules during meetings.
It’s been so bad lately, Ford is creating a subcommittee on rules and procedures to get things in order.
This comes less than a week after councilwoman Janis Fullilove was walked out of the city council meeting over accusations she was drunk.
Council members Myron Lowery, Bill Boyd, and Wanda Halbert make up the committee set to revamp the rules.
They say council members are out of line and disrespectful to fellow board members and speakers.
By creating this Committee on Rules and Procedures these three council members will outline the rules that should be followed and present them to council for a vote.
They didn’t get into specifics on the first meeting, but say they must hit some touchy issues to regain control.
“We`re kind of allowing the discussion to become a little too broad,” said Councilwoman Halbert.
Council members say talks turn into screaming matches too often with unfair accusations of corruption and calling people names like liar without any evidence.
Boyd wants new rules to be clearer and stop name calling.
“We`ve got the budget and all these things and we`re spending time on personal complaints,” said Councilman Boyd.
Halbert says council members shouldn’t assume everyone knows what behavior is appropriate, and it’s up to council members to speak up when they feel a colleague is out of line.
The committee will take input on ethics from the mayor and other council members in about two weeks before presenting them to the full council.
