Supreme Court Rules Against Mayor and City Council

JACKSON & COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) -The Mississippi Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Mayor Robert Smith and the Columbus City Council.

In a decision handed down Thursday, the high court ruled that the mayor and council members violated the State’s Open Meetings Law, when they held a series of meetings in 2014.

In those meetings the mayor met with 3 councilmen at a time, one member short of the quorum for an official meeting,  to discuss an economic development issue and the renovation of a city building.

A reporter from the Commercial Dispatch tried to sit in on one of the meetings, and was denied access. He filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission.

The Ethics Commission ruled that the meetings were pre-planned and called specifically to discuss city business, and the Mayor and Council were purposely trying to skirt the Open Meetings Law.

The city appealed to Chancery Court. That court upheld the Ethics Commission ruling, leading the City to appeal to the Supreme Court.