Jasper’s Special Called Meeting: Transparency or Tactical Maneuver?

An agenda for a special called meeting has been posted, calling for the waiver of attorney-client privilege and the immediate release of a legal opinion regarding Jasper Economic Development Corporation (JEDCO).

At first glance, this might seem like a step toward transparency—but the timeline tells a different story.

At the April 14th meeting, agenda item 14 proposed waiving attorney-client privilege to make the memorandum public. Before council could move forward, Councilwoman Angel McCroskey made a motion to postpone. She reminded everyone that she had requested a meeting to discuss the opinion as soon as she received it—but that meeting never happened.

Now, with item #14 suddenly appearing on the agenda, McCroskey explained that the council needed a separate meeting with an executive session to be advised by the city attorney and to vote on appointments or possible removal of board members. The mayor fumbled, suggesting the agenda item wasn’t correctly worded, and then turned to Billy Morian for confirmation.

Morian, in his legal voice, stated: “I believe there has been a motion to postpone, and it is my opinion that the council does need to convene in a closed group to discuss the opinions of the memorandum and discuss what actions need to be taken.”

Who called the meeting for Thursday May 1st and why? Under the city charter, it takes two council members or the mayor to call a meeting. On April 14th, McCroskey and Sample voted to postpone the release of the memorandum, clearly signaling the need for a separate meeting with an executive session before moving forward.

Now, with Demarcus Holmes out of town and Hilderbrand unable to call it alone, that means the mayor is once again the one driving this special meeting—just like he did on April 14th.

Which raises an even bigger question: Why is he pushing so hard?

Who benefits from the release of this memorandum before the council has had a chance to meet with the city attorney in a closed session? Why is due process being sidestepped to rush this out the door? Why is the city attorney silent? During the April 14th meeting, McCroskey followed up on her concerns, requesting a special called meeting on April 21st to ensure council members could properly review and discuss the memorandum before making any decisions.

Yet when the time came, the mayor, Councilman Hilderbrand, and Councilman Holmes did not attend.

Holmes was out of town working—but just days later, he Zoomed into the April 24th meeting and voted. If remote participation was possible then, why wasn’t it utilized earlier? Why skip the conversation, then jump in when it’s time to push decisions forward?

This isn’t an isolated incident. Holmes has missed 14 of the last 30 meetings, but suddenly Zooms into this one to vote? If remote access was an option, why wasn’t it available on April 14th or April 21st? And if it was, why did Holmes miss those meetings?

Now, we’re seeing another special called meeting—without council deliberation—to push through waiving privilege.

So here’s the real question:

Why is there urgency to waive privilege, but no urgency for council members to actually review the legal opinion first?

Who benefits from skipping the discussion in closed session?

Is this about transparency—or controlling the narrative before council members even have a chance to speak?

Jasper residents deserve truth, not carefully orchestrated maneuvers that bypass discussion and accountability. Waiving attorney-client privilege without council members reviewing the memorandum themselves doesn’t serve the people—it serves those looking to control what gets revealed and when.

#justmyopinion