Town of Middletown council recesses into executive session over bargaining, land acquisition and potential litigation

The presiding officer of the Town of Middletown called for the meeting to recess into executive session citing Rhode Island General Laws and listed collective bargaining, land acquisition and potential litigation as the topics to be discussed. The motion to recess the open session and convene an executive session was made, seconded and approved by voice vote.

The council cited "Executive session pursuant to provisions of Rhode Island General Law sections 42‑46‑2, 42‑46‑4, and 42‑46‑5(a)," and the presiding officer specified the subjects: collective bargaining concerning firefighters; collective bargaining concerning the police FOP; land acquisition; and potential litigation. Those items were presented as the reasons for entering a closed session, which is commonly used for negotiation strategy, property deals and legal consultations permitted under the cited statutes.

A motion "to recess [the] open session, re in executive" was made and received a second; the presiding officer then called for a voice vote, which was recorded as "Aye." The transcript does not attribute the motion or the second to individual council members by name; the meeting record therefore does not identify a specific mover or seconder, nor does it include a roll-call vote tally in the provided excerpt.

No substantive discussion of the listed topics occurred in the public portion of the transcript provided. The council recessed into executive session to address the cited bargaining, property and litigation matters; the public record in this excerpt ends with the voice vote to enter the closed session.