When Fayetteville rolled out its public forum under the city’s new rules and schedule on March 2, the new setup brought both expanded speaking time and a few early kinks—along with renewed calls for greater transparency in how the council conducts its business.
The council voted in February to move the monthly public forum from the second Monday during its regular meeting to a standalone meeting on the first Monday. The new format begins at 6:15 p.m., shortly after the council’s work session, and folds announcements and recognitions into the same meeting.
The speaking window has doubled from 30 minutes to an hour, and residents are no longer required to state their address at the podium. The mayor may now offer rebuttals, a change from the previous limit of only the city manager and city attorney.
A Strong Turnout But Not Enough Seats
Mayor Mitch Colvin said the debut went “well,” but acknowledged the city underestimated how many people would show up.
“We did not realize or anticipate the large crowd,” Colvin said. “The next meeting I will be requesting we set up chambers the same way we do for regular meetings with maximum seating capacity.”
Despite the hiccups, Colvin said the new format ultimately gave residents more time and space to be heard.
The council’s work session ran from 3 to 5:30 p.m. For the public comment session, council members remained seated in their typical work‑session arrangement—two rows facing each other in front of the dais—rather than shifting to the dais as they do for regular meetings. That left about 70 chairs for the public. The room quickly filled, and roughly a dozen people were forced to stand.
Multiple attendees told CityView they were frustrated by the crowding and lack of seating.
Council member Lynne Greene said during the recess that several members had already asked staff to reconfigure the room for future forums.
After the meeting, Greene said she believed the council didn’t relocate because of how the microphones were set up.
“It takes a lot to move it around,” she said. “I believe we should just be on the dais for the next meeting from the start because citizens need to have a place to sit. It’s one of those kinks we have to work through.”
Most Attendees Leave Before Public Comment
Much of the early crowd arrived for announcements and recognitions. The council honored three staff members—DeAnna Braggs, Anthony Foy, and Benjamin Shepherd—with Excellence in Action Awards. Colvin also issued proclamations recognizing Girl Scout Week and Transit Driver Appreciation Day.
By the time the public forum began around 6:45 p.m., most attendees had left. About 16 people remained in the audience.
Six residents signed up to speak, but only two—Arleen Fields and Joseph Schwab—ultimately addressed the council.
Transparency Concerns Resurface
Schwab used his time to criticize what he described as declining transparency in city government. He pointed to the city’s decision to stream the new public forum in audio‑only format, whereas previous forums were livestreamed with video.
“This change diminished the voices of those receiving awards and those who take the time to address council,” he said. “Fewer people are likely to tune in to an audio‑only broadcast.”
He then turned to the council’s dinner meetings—informal sessions held in a third‑floor conference room before regular meetings. Although the gatherings have existed since 2008, long before Colvin took office, they have come under renewed scrutiny.
The meetings are difficult for the public to access, are not livestreamed or video‑recorded, and only a single audio recording is made. That recording is destroyed once the council approves the minutes.
Some former council members have criticized the setup as allowing substantive discussions to occur out of public view.
Schwab said those conversations “help shape decisions and votes that directly impact the public,” and urged the council to make them more accessible.
“Transparency builds trust, he said.
Fields focused her comments on data centers, saying she was disappointed the council did not support Council member Shaun McMillan’s motion on March 2 to research data center policies and consider a temporary moratorium.
“It will probably take at least three years for a data center to become operational after local government authorizes it,” she said. “In the tech world, that’s a mighty long time. I urge City Council to put a moratorium on data center applications and to carefully examine the risks and rewards.”
Neither the mayor nor city staff commented after either speaker. The next public forum is scheduled for April 6.
Government reporter Rachel Heimann Mercader can be reached at rheimann@cityviewnc.com or 910-988-8045.
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