London mayor cancels meeting on controversial ordinances, council still convenes
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mayor cancels special council meeting over inadequate public seating and Open Meetings Act advice.
- Council pushes pay-scale and budget measures that could cut 51 jobs and curb fire services.
- Mayor and council remain locked in impeachment fights and appeals before Kentucky courts.
A special-called London City Council meeting was canceled in a dramatic fashion Wednesday by embattled Mayor Randall Weddle over concerns it would violate the Open Meetings Act.
Several council members, however, apparently convened the special meeting afterward without the mayor.
Weddle canceled the special-called meeting, intended to review two controversial ordinance changes, citing a lack of adequate seating and viewing available for the public. He spoke with city attorney Larry Bryson and other lawyers before the meeting was supposed to start, who advised having a public meeting under those circumstances could violate the Open Meetings Act by limiting public participation.
The meeting was held in the council chambers, in the basement of the London Community Center. Typically, London council meetings are held on the main floor of the London Community Center, which provides more seating.
Weddle, Bryson, acting city clerk Ashley Taylor and council member Anthony Ortega left the chambers after the meeting was canceled. However, online videos posted to Facebook Wednesday afternoon appear to show a quorum of the council holding a meeting anyway.
The fire alarm was pulled at one point, prompting London Fire Chief Donnie Hale to tell the council to evacuate the building, according to online videos. The council refused to leave and ultimately finished their meeting.
In a statement to the Herald-Leader, Weddle said he heard the other five council members stayed in the chambers and held a meeting. It is unclear if the council took action at the second meeting.
The council’s attorney, Chris Wiest, and each council member did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday from the Herald-Leader.
What was supposed to be discussed during the meeting?
The special-called meeting was created to have second readings of several ordinances proposed by the council at its Dec. 1 regular meeting. Two ordinances in particular regarding the city employee pay scale and a proposed amended budget have drawn heavy criticism from Weddle and some residents.
The pay scale ordinance sets the hourly or yearly rate of pay for employees depending on their grade and experience. The revised ordinance, according to Weddle, also limits the number of city employees, which the mayor said will result in 51 employees being laid off.
“It’s very concerning that we’re not only going to be impacting employees’ lives, but we’re going to begin to lower the standard of service to the people that live here, that visit here, and that’s sad,” Weddle said in a recorded video posted to the city’s Facebook page before the special meeting.
Weddle said there is no need to restructure the city hall employee pay scale or reduce the number of people employed. He called the ordinance a retaliatory response to the hostile-work environment petition filed by city employees against the council while Weddle was impeached.
“There is 48 individual[s] who made a claim against you [council member Judd Weaver] and [previous acting mayor] Tracie Handley,” Weddle said during Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting. “... And now, you are implementing two ordinances that say we’re going to get you for what you did.”
The mayor and the council have clashed on several occasions in the last several months. In early September, the council unanimously agreed to remove Weddle from office after determining he committed misconduct or willful neglect on five of 11 charges he faced.
Weddle appealed the impeachment ruling Sept. 11 in Laurel County Circuit Court, and a little more than two weeks later, a special judge presiding over the case, David Williams, reinstated him as mayor. The council has appealed the reinstatement and also asked for expedited relief to place Handley back in office as mayor. The case is now before the Kentucky Supreme Court, according to court records.
Weddle is also opposed to the second ordinance set to be reviewed Wednesday, which is an amended city budget proposed by the council. A subsection in the ordinance says the fire department’s salaries, fuel supply, medical supplies and vehicles are conditioned on the fire department not providing basic life support and advanced life support services without a mutual aid request.
The ordinance further says funding from another subsection of the budget shall not be used to establish basic life support and advanced life support services. Anyone who violates the subsections could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by six months in jail and a maximum $500 fine, the ordinance reads.
“Everything you’re doing here is in vindictive nature, and it’s blatant and plain,” Weddle said during the Dec. 1 meeting. “If it’s about saving lives, then sit down with me in my office and get rid of this ridiculous wording that’s only benefitting the attorney that you’re paying.”
It remains unclear if fire department personnel would be prevented from providing basic and advanced life support services without a mutual aid request if the ordinance is passed.
The ordinance indicates the amended budget is necessary because of lawsuits and unexpected costs, but Weddle said the city’s director of finance says that’s unnecessary.
“They’re trying to use that, the lawsuits, to say we’re gutting 51 employees, and not only are we gutting 51 employees, the fire department cannot save lives because, I guess, they’re planning to do contracted services with another third party person,” Weddle said. It is unclear what lawsuits Weddle is referring to.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM.
