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Absences of three elected officials led to the cancellation of Tuesday night's meeting of the embattled Indian Trail town council.
Now, town officials say the cancellation for lack of a quorum was wrong.
Council members Gary D'Onofrio and Dan Schallenkamp said a week before the meeting that they couldn't attend because of work. Mayor John Quinn notified town manager Peggy Piontek on Monday night that he would be absent because of work.
Piontek said that research early last week led town officials to conclude that four of six elected officials needed to be present. That's why the meeting was canceled.
But Friday, Piontek said further review showed the town charter requires only three of the five council members to be present for a quorum - and that the charter takes precedence over other state or town rules.
Mayor Pro Tem Shirley Howe said there were important items on Tuesday's agenda, including whether to add five Union County Sheriff's officers. Early in the week, she criticized Quinn for his absence.
He responded that the town didn't need to cancel the meeting since a quorum was present, under the town charter.
"As it turns out, the town didn't have to cancel the meeting," Quinn said.
That business will be taken up Nov. 10.
