A Marion City Council meeting ended abruptly Monday night after Mayor Dexter Hinton declared the session adjourned without a council vote following a tense executive session in which at least one council member walked out in apparent protest over a proposed policy restricting public access to city records.
Councilmembers Tommy Kennie, Ann Lecroy, Willie Jackson, and Stanley Kennie were present. Councilmember Jeremy Arrington was absent.
Among the items on the agenda was a discussion of a proposed resolution regarding public records requests to the city. The council moved into executive session with City Clerk Laura Hinton and the city’s attorney, Ainkah Jackson, who participated by teleconference.
Executive sessions are closed-door meetings that allow governing bodies to discuss certain limited matters, typically pending litigation, personnel matters, or real property transactions, outside of public view. They are an exception to Alabama’s Open Meetings Act, which generally requires government business to be conducted in public.
During the executive session, Councilmember Stanley Kennie opened the door and could be heard speaking at length about the public’s right to access government records.
“The citizens have the right to view any files in this office,” Kennie said.
“And I stand on my ground, I’m gone. I’m through with that.”
Kennie then left the executive session and returned to the main council chambers. He was soon joined by Councilmembers Ann Lecroy and Willie Jackson.
Mayor Hinton returned to the chambers shortly after and called for a ten-minute recess before going back to the office where the executive session had been held. After several more minutes, the remaining participants emerged and Councilmember Tommy Kennie rejoined the others at the council table.
Mayor Hinton then returned to the chambers and addressed the group.
“I would like to make an announcement,” Hinton said.
“Until we can conduct…in a calm manner and be respectful as a governing body…this meeting is adjourned until the next meeting. Y’all have a blessed evening.”
The precise content of the proposed resolution has not been publicly released.
However, it is worth noting that unlike an ordinance, which carries the force of law, a resolution is a statement of policy or intent. Furthermore, neither a city’s law nor its policy can supersede state law.
Whatever restrictions a municipality might attempt to place on public records requests through a resolution, those restrictions would have doubtful legal standing against rights guaranteed under the Alabama Open Records Act.
Under that law, which was significantly strengthened by the Alabama Legislature in 2024, citizens have the right to inspect and obtain copies of public records held by government agencies.
The law establishes specific timelines for agencies to respond to requests and creates a presumption of denial if those timelines are not met, giving requesters legal standing to seek court intervention.
The Times-Standard-Herald has filed multiple open records requests with the City of Marion in recent months seeking documents related to city operations and personnel.
Those requests have not been fulfilled.
