MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Midway City Council addressed accusations that they violated the city charter in June's meeting, leading a resident to sue the city.
"It's a sad day in Midway when people take their personal interests above the citizens," said resident Auburn Ford.
Ford is a Midway City resident who filed a lawsuit against the city.
"Me and my attorney filed a motion that is currently pending in Gadsden County Circuit Court for Midway having an illegal meeting on June 8, where they did not have a quorum, but they went on and conducted business," said Ford.
According to Ford, the cell phone video he shot during an emergency meeting called on June 8 shows Mayor Range and Mayor Pro Tem Samuel Stevens appointing a new council member to fill the empty District 1 seat without enough council members present.
Quintealia Cato was sworn in at the meeting as the newest council member.
"Our city charter says anytime a vote is made during a special meeting or an emergency meeting, that vote or decision cannot be confirmed until the following meeting. So that's what I advised the council," said Anthony Thomas, City Attorney for Midway.
In Thursday's meeting, Cato was not confirmed as the District 1 council member.
It wasn't easy for council members to agree on whether Cato should be able to vote on agenda items in Thursday's meeting.
In the end, they reached a stalemate over Cato's approval of the District 1 seat.
Since the vote was tied, it didn't pass.
"It was agreed upon by the council members to request that the governor appoint a council member and that's been set in motion at this time," said Thomas.
Ford was happy the commissioners addressed this issue. However, he wishes citizens of Midway had a say in who sits at the District 1 seat.
"Now they're asking the governor to intervene, which they still have an opportunity to hold a special election," said Ford. "But they'd rather take their chances with the governor selecting someone then letting the people select someone."
MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) - The City of Midway is having their first public meeting since a resident sued the city last month for violating the city charter.
A Midway resident filed a lawsuit after the city council appointed a new member to fill the empty District 1 seat without a quorum in attendance.
This came one day after a regularly scheduled meeting was cancelled because two of the four members weren't present to vote on this.
According to Midway's City Charter, the majority of council members must be present to conduct business.
Auburn Ford is the resident suing the city. He was in the meeting on June 8 and recorded a video from inside the meeting.
WTXL reached out to city officials to get a statement before Thursday night's meeting. We have not heard back yet.
The council plans to discuss the 2017 city audit and the 2018-2019 budget timeline.
