We live in a good town, between a ridge and a river, and what happens in its public rooms belongs to all of us. These are the records of that business — built from the city's own video and documents, so any neighbor can check the work.
Council Watch · The Records
One record per meeting: a 30-second summary, a plain-language recap, the documents to the dollar, and the complete transcript — every line plays the city's own video of that moment.
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№ 14
August 26, 2026 · special meeting
A garbage truck rented, 6–0 — the bigger decision next Tuesday
An emergency bid waiver for a four-week side-loader rental ($10,400–$10,900), a $260,000 used-truck option on the table, and the council's sanitation math — 239 transcript turns, four documents.
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№ 3
August 20, 2026 · special meeting
Three police vehicles, approved 5–0
$210,000 over 60 months through Commercial Capital, with two more cars later "as funds permit" — 175 transcript turns, four documents.
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№ 2
August 19, 2026 · special meeting
Down to three cruisers — and no vote, after a notice problem
The chief's fleet report, the mayor's fund-balance case for buying five, and the FOIA press-notice issue that pushed the decision a day — 212 transcript turns, three documents.
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№ 1
August 18, 2026 · regular meeting
Two 5–0 votes, rules tabled, police cars deferred
The community-service ordinance passes, public-comment rules go back for rework, water and sanitation report deep trouble — 493 transcript turns, eight documents.
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№ 4
August 4, 2026 · regular meeting
A $30,000 garbage truck, approved 4–2
The used Memphis truck bought over two no votes, a roughly $700,757 Entergy debt disclosure read near adjournment, and the A&P boardwalk-grant ask — 337 transcript turns, five documents.
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№ 6
July 30, 2026 · special meeting
Two used trucks on the table — and no vote
Draft bid-waiver ordinances, a street-fund transfer plan, and the rental clock running out that Monday — 261 transcript turns, five documents.
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№ 5
July 23, 2026 · special meeting
The 2024 audit, finding by finding
$2.148 million in unpaid General Fund bills, three funds in deficit, repossessed equipment — and the corrective action plan, signed — 368 transcript turns, five documents.
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№ 7
July 21, 2026 · regular meeting
Three festivals, a special prosecutor, and the Entergy bill
The conflict disclosed on the record, a $701,220.60 repayment question tabled for legal review, and a towing dispute — 246 transcript turns, eight documents.
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№ 8
July 7, 2026 · regular meeting
116 tons in 11 days, on two dependable trucks
The sanitation crisis from the department's own staff, the vendor-vs-in-house numbers, and a $4.5 million EPA water grant — 506 transcript turns, five documents.
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№ 9
June 16, 2026 · regular meeting
Sanitation, in-house or vendor — the revenue math on the record
Commission budgets adopted 6–0, the 50-year M2X methane deal sent to committee, the animal-control lease deferred, and Entergy's $772,184 in unpaid city balances — 386 transcript turns, five documents.
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№ 10
June 4, 2026 · special meeting
A $112,000 used bulldozer, bought 6–0
The bid-waiver ordinance for the landfill dozer — to be paid off early from a $525,000 contaminated-soil project — and the UniFirst uniform contract tabled to July — 238 transcript turns, three documents.
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№ 11
June 2, 2026 · regular meeting
A 50-year methane proposal — and a quorum lost at 8:24 p.m.
Two bid waivers held for lack of votes, $80,327.63 in water invoices approved 4–0, and a $105,000-before-payroll disclosure that opened a transparency fight — 534 transcript turns, seven documents.
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№ 12
May 19, 2026 · regular meeting
Emergency street repairs, 5–1, off the washout estimates
$14,000 in repairs, the floodwall sewer-line ordinance 6–0, a sanitation-reporting resolution, the $200,000-contractor-vs-$70,000-director fight, and four condemnation properties read into the record — 408 transcript turns, three documents.
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№ 13
April 21, 2026 · regular meeting
The veto stands; the claims list hits $3.29 million
No override vote on the district-court raises, the official claims list at $3,291,279.94 — before the IRS, state taxes, and Entergy are counted — and a $150-per-hour nuisance-abatement rate passed 5–0 — 164 transcript turns, two documents.
Perspectives · Signed opinion
Where the record ends and a point of view begins: signed pieces by Robert Cheek, built on the records above and cited the same way — timestamps play the video, document stamps open the exhibits. The record stands on its own; read it first if you'd rather draw your own conclusions.
How a record works
- Green dots and timestamps play the city's own video of that exact moment, right on the page.
- Page stamps open the actual meeting documents — budgets, invoices, ordinances — to the cited page.
- The complete transcript, every turn, nothing summarized away.
- Speaker names are verified against the video by people; a ° marks the ones not yet checked.
See a name that's wrong? Tap it on any transcript line and suggest a correction — suggestions are reviewed against the video before anything on the record changes.
More perspectives — and issue pages that follow the long stories (water, sanitation, streets, the city's money) across meetings and years — will grow from these records. The record comes first.