Back in October, Northampton County Council sued former Executive Lamont McClure over audio and visual upgrades to County Council's meeting room. Ron Heckman, a former Council member, was participating in meetings remotely and routinely complained that he was unable to hear or see what was happening. When he would speak at meetings, his voice would often cut off, and no one could hear him. It was suggested that he might be responsible himself for his technical difficulties, but he insisted that this was a systemic problem that the Executive branch chose to ignore.
Northampton County Council actually adopted an Ordinance for these upgrades in late 2023. According to the terms of this Ordinance, the upgrades were to be completed by June 2024. Then Exec McClure vetoed the Ordinance, but the only Council member who voted to sustain that veto was then Council member (and now Executive) Tara Zrinski.
The total cost of these upgrades is unknown but is well within County Council's contingency fund.
With the recent election and inauguration of Tara Zrinski as Exec, I thought County Council and the Exec would reach some sort of agreement. But instead, the matter is currently in the hands of Northampton County Court. The County Exec maintains that a complaint for Declaratory Judgment is an improper form of action. I personally think a Mandamus action is probably more appropriate but am unsure whether the court wishes to exalt procedure over substance.
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