A Cedar Bluff resident who was removed from the Town Council meeting on Monday has filed a Grievance against the Town of Cedar Bluff in Violation of Resolution 2016-16 which states the Mayor is the responsible party for conducting meetings of the Town Council in an orderly fashion in accordance with Robert’s Rules and Resolution 2016-16. (This can be found on the Town of Cedar Bluff’s official website)

Roger Griffeth, who has announced his candidacy for Mayor of the Town in 2020, is accusing Cedar Bluff Mayor Tammy Crane of playing by “homemade” rules during Monday’s meeting.

Griffeth said in a letter sent to WEIS Radio that when Dave Kubat did not confine his remarks to the subject set forth in the agenda, he made a point of order challenge addressing the Mayor who was the presiding officer. His point of order was that Mr. Kubat deviated from the subject matter and discussed topics that were not proper before the meeting or on the agenda.

Generally, a point of order must be raised at the time the rules are broken or else it would be too late.

Griffeth says that when his point of order was on the floor, the Mayor, due to the known conflict of interest that exists between Mr. Kubat and her, should have turned the gavel over to another member of the Council before Mr. Kubat was allowed to make his remarks. Instead of the Mayor ruling on the point of order that Mr. Kubat was off topic in his remarks, the Mayor ignored the challenge that she was required to decide. Others in the meeting voiced concerns that Mr. Kubat had exceeded the five (5) minutes rule, but Mr. Kubat was allowed by the Mayor to continue.

Griffeth stated Mayor Crane continued to ignore valid parliamentary challenge which required that the objection to be raised a second time. Instead of restoring order to the meeting, and ruling on the challenge of the meeting rules, the Mayor instructed a police officer, using her own “homemade rule of order” to have Griffeth removed from the meeting. According to Robert’s Rules of Order only a vote of Town Council can require an individual be removed from the meeting.

Griffeth contends that in removing him from the meeting the Mayor violated Alabama’s Open Meeting Law by not allowing him to remain in the meeting.

Griffeth has requested that the Town provide him with a written apology within five (5) from the date this grievance was received and said that if the Town does not respond to the grievance within ten (10) days, he intends to file a formal complaint against the Town for a violation of the Open Meeting Act.

The Town of Cedar Bluff declined to comment on the matter and has deferred all questions to their legal counsel.