London City Council mandates department heads' meeting attendance

London City Council has passed a new rule that requires department heads to attend regular meetings. This ordinance, known as 2025-03, was introduced during a special meeting on Thursday morning. According to the rule, department supervisors or their direct reports must be present to answer specific questions from the council. Council Member Judd Weaver emphasized the importance of having these officials available for inquiries. The departments expected to participate include Building and Code Enforcement, Information Technology, London City Police, London Fire, Public Works, and London Rescue Squad. The city finance director and city clerk must also attend. During the meeting, Weaver chaired in the absence of Mayor Randall Weddle. Other officials, including City Attorney Larry Bryson and Council members Stacy Benge and Holly Little, were also not present. Council Member Anthony Ortega conducted readings for two other ordinances. The first requires the city and city clerk to share agendas with council members a week before meetings. The second allows the London Community Center to be used entirely for council meetings, rather than just the downstairs area. Having access to the full community center will help the council conduct more business. Ortega noted that regular meetings allow for new topics to be discussed, while special meetings have stricter rules about the agenda. Some discussions were postponed, including a conversation with Fire Chief Donnie Hale and a preliminary budget meeting. Community member Doug Phelps raised concerns about the absence of city employees. Ortega assured him that they were on the email list, but the reason for their absence was unclear. Phelps reminded the council of their financial authority, to which Weaver agreed. Additionally, an executive session about legal matters was also delayed until the next meeting. London City Council meets on the first Monday of every month, with the next gathering scheduled for April 7 at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be livestreamed on the city's Facebook page.