Grassroots Tyler group alleges Tyler City Council violated open meetings act

Published 5:30 pm Tuesday, December 10, 2024

A local political group alleges the City of Tyler violated the Texas Open Meetings act.

Grassroots America – We The People alleges the city violated the state’s open meetings act when it appointed members to the city’s library advisory board.

At a press briefing Tuesday morning, the group discussed the alleged violations and a three-year effort to address sexually explicit materials accessible to minors at the Tyler Public Library and called for adopting community standards-based content policies.

“This is about protecting children, which is a God-given responsibility for adults,” said JoAnn Fleming, the group’s executive director. “We expect the city to refresh their memory on this and put it on a future (city) council agenda — not six months from now.”

The Smith County District Attorney’s Office looked into the alleged violations for two meetings in 2023. In an Oct. 16 letter addressed to Mayor Don Warren and the Tyler City Council, Smith County Criminal District Attorney Jacob Putman identified “several areas of concern” regarding a Aug. 23, 2023 council meeting and a subsequent meeting Sept. 13, 2023.

In August 2023, an “emergency notice” was issued for a city “training session,” but Putman argues it failed to meet the requirements of Section 551.045 of the Texas Government Code, which mandates emergencies be clearly identified, such as a fire, flood, earthquake or hurricane.

The “emergency notice” described the training as “for invited guests,” suggesting it was not open to the public. However, it appears the training did not meet criteria allowing it to be closed to the public, Putman said.

Such a violation is punishable by up to six months of confinement, a fine ranging from $100 to $500, or both. A conviction could also lead to the removal of the offending member from office.

Putman’s letter also noted that the improperly noticed “emergency meeting” was allegedly for city council training on board and commission appointments. At the following open meeting on Sept. 13, 2023, the council unanimously approved a slate of board and commission members without discussion, raising questions about when and by whom the slate was prepared.

“We have cooperated with the district attorney, and we have not received any further communication from his office regarding the allegations,” the City of Tyler said Tuesday in a statement to the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “The city and its staff are committed to being open and transparent and take their responsibility to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act very seriously.”

Grassroots doesn’t intend to pursue legal action but believes their requests for remediation are reasonable, Fleming said.

On Sept. 13, 2023, volunteers assembled to show support for library board members that would reflect “community standards,” in selecting materials for the library. Five community members volunteered to speak to council on behalf of those who submitted applications.

Around 50 appointments and eight new chairs were made, including three new members and a new chair for the Library Advisory Board. Numerous citizens supporting the “Stop the Porn in Tyler Library” committee applied and expressed interest in serving on the board.

The agenda item and vote took only a few minutes with no discussion or debate, which was confirmed through previous Tyler Morning Telegraph city council coverage. Grassroots America alleges public and private events were orchestrated, and the use of misleading agenda descriptions reflects a premeditated intent to violate public trust, the group stated.

In a statement, Grassroots emphasized the public’s interest in witnessing the deliberations on nominations to public boards. The most egregious aspect, the group alleged, was allowing residents to passionately petition them to follow community standards, while knowing the decision had already been made and a list of appointees allegedly printed before the vote was taken.

“If they do this with board and commission appointments, how can we believe they’re not doing the same with financial deals and spending tax dollars? Their lack of integrity and ethical misfeasance should disqualify them from holding elected office,” Fleming said.

Grassroots America outlined five “common-sense” actions it believes the Tyler City Council should debate and act on in a public forum. These include updating the Library Policy Manual to provide clear, community standards-based guidance on sexually explicit, vulgar and age-inappropriate material.

The group also recommends designating the Texas State Library and Archives Commission as the primary certification and accreditation organization, while expunging all references to and associations with the American Library Association.

Other proposals include implementing procedures to post and receive public comments on books before issuing purchase orders and eliminating bundling by publishers to prevent violations of community standards, auditing the Children’s and Teen sections to identify and relocate materials that don’t meet community standards and requiring periodic public reports to the Tyler City Council on the remediation status of operational deficiencies and policy corrections.

“This is not about banning books,” Fleming said. “We simply want the books moved so that they are not accessible by underage children … Underage children cannot give consent to sexual acts. They cannot give consent to having their minds and emotions raped either. That is why adults need to protect children.”

The library is divided into five sections. Books recommended for ages 18 and under are in the juvenile section, books recommended for readers ages 14 and up are in the young adult section; and books recommended for readers 16 years and older are in the adult section. Books for adults on parenting topics are in the parenting section, and books for children on issues that need adult explanation, such as death and family dynamics, are in the family section.

The City of Tyler said arrangements are based on recommendations from professional organizations like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus. Any discrepancies result in staff members reading the book to determine the appropriate age range.

Library policy states providing access to a material does not endorse it.

“People are sort of saying, ‘I can’t believe that you would support this book,’” City Manager Edward Broussard told the Tyler Morning Telegraph in a September 2023 interview. “The book in our collection is not an endorsement of the book or material. The book being in the library indicates that this idea is present for people to read and share, agree with or disagree with, but it is not an endorsement by the City.”

In the young adult section for ages 14-plus, some books have scenes or material that could be considered sexual, Broussard added. However, there is no sexually explicit material in the children’s section. Context matters, because although there is some mature content, the narrative is for a younger demographic to learn a lesson, he said.

“When I ran for mayor, my slogan was ‘For All of Tyler,’ and when I think of the library, it’s the same slogan,” Warren said during the September 2023 interview. “It’s for all of Tyler, and you see the community — it’s a diverse community. The library is the community.”