London mayor, council spar over whether meeting violated state law
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mayor Weddle calls Wednesday meeting illegal; council insists votes were valid.
- Council says it passed ordinances to fix unapproved expenses and restore budget.
- Mayor will file Open Meetings Act complaint; impeachment and appeals continue.
The London City Council and Mayor Randall Weddle on Thursday added another chapter to their lengthy feud, sparring over whether a meeting that was held this week without the mayor was valid.
The meeting in question happened after Weddle attempted to cancel a special meeting Wednesday in the council chambers. The meeting was scheduled to have second readings of several proposed ordinances, including two controversial ordinances about city employee pay scale and a proposed amended budget.
Weddle did not call the planned meeting to order, citing concerns it could violate Kentucky’s Open Meetings Act due to inadequate seating and viewing opportunities for the public.
Weddle, City Attorney Larry Bryson, acting city clerk Ashley Taylor and council member Anthony Ortega departed the chambers after the meeting was canceled. However, online videos posted to Facebook show the other five council members held a meeting anyway, and the council is claiming the actions taken in the meeting are valid.
According to a news release shared by the council, “critical ordinances” were passed to fix unapproved expenses and “restore the city’s budget and pay plan to compliance with Kentucky state law.” Second readings of all the ordinances on the agenda were approved with a unanimous vote.
And on Thursday, during another planned special meeting to have second readings of the same ordinances, Weddle said the “fake meeting” was illegal and any action taken during that meeting is not valid. The city will file an Open Meetings Act violation to the attorney general’s office regarding the meeting in question.
Thursday’s special meeting was not called to order due to a lack of quorum. Ortega was the only council member present.
“Every one of us has witnessed how rogue they’ve become,” Weddle said. “This was their chance to rectify their mistake yesterday. They’ve decided not to do so, so I want to apologize, but we’ve given them that opportunity.”
Anthony Ortega explains council’s stance on the meeting in question
During Wednesday’s meeting, the other five council members had a quorum, appointed a chair to hold the meeting and did the second readings, Ortega told the public at Thursday’s planned special meeting. Kelly Greene acted as the chair, and Donna Gail House acted as the city clerk during the meeting, Greene told the Herald-Leader.
A similar situation happened a few months ago, and the attorney general’s office ruled the council’s meeting was valid, according to Ortega.
“We believe that that meeting was legal, and those second readings are complete,” Ortega said.
The pay scale ordinance sets the hourly or yearly rate of pay for employees depending on their grade and experience. The ordinance, according to Weddle, also limits the number of city employees, which the mayor said will result in 51 employees being laid off.
According to the council’s news release, the council reinstated the city’s official pay plan in August 2025, but Weddle continued creating positions, setting salaries and hiring without legislative authorization.
“London cannot afford to sustain this fiscal irresponsibility,” the council’s news release says. “We have a fiduciary duty to ensure the legal spending of any/all public funds. We will not shirk from making difficult decisions to protect taxpayers and restore accountability.”
The other controversial ordinance 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 cannot 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.
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. According to the city of London’s website, the ordinances have not undergone a second reading, and have not been published.
“The council appreciates the widespread citizen support, welcomes resident input, and remains committed to transparent governance and compliance with state law,” the council said in the news release.
Weddle asked for people to pray for the city.
“Obviously our city needs a lot of prayer,” Weddle said. “Our council needs a lot of guidance, and they need a lot of Jesus.”
History between Weddle and the council
On Sept. 5, the council unanimously agreed to remove Weddle from office after determining he committed misconduct or willful neglect. The council voted unanimously on three counts that warranted removing him from office.
The three counts include Weddle executing a $5 million mortgage on Levi Jackson State Park and the Laurel County Fairgrounds without the council’s approval, failure to fill ethics board vacancies in a timely manner and not properly publishing a city ordinance, according to court documents.
Weddle appealed the impeachment ruling Sept. 11 in Laurel County Circuit Court. A little more than two weeks later, a special judge presiding over the case, David Williams, reinstated Weddle as mayor.
The council appealed the order, but Weddle has remained in office in the meantime. The Kentucky Court of Appeals denied a request from the council to pause Williams’ reinstatement order, and the case is awaiting ruling from the Kentucky Supreme Court.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 8:34 AM.
