Is Charlotte already trying to change how meetings work as mayor prepares exit?
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles still has a month left in office, but the City Council is already talking about changing its meeting procedure to make it easier to discuss topics of community interest.
Current rules dictate the council can only add a topic to meeting agendas either at the mayor’s referral or if a majority of the 11 members vote to do so. That has blocked some items from making it to the dais for public debate.
Councilwoman Renee Perkins Johnson wants to lower that bar to four members. She moved to discuss the issue during the council’s next business meeting on June 8, and the council unanimously agreed.
If adopted, the proposal would mark the first significant procedural shakeup since Mayor Vi Lyles announced she would resign at the end of June. Lyles has at times faced criticism over a lack of transparency during her five terms in office, especially in the latter years.
“The historic I-77 vote on May 11 showed the power of simply enabling your council to publicly discuss an issue. That single discussion shifted the entire direction of a major decision impacting our community, and it reinforces something I’ve been saying for years,” Perkins Johnson said. “Council must have the ability to govern in real time and respond to the voices of the people whom we represent.”
Monday’s meeting was also the first time the council discussed the mayor’s impending departure since Lyles announced the news on May 7. Perkins Johnson asked that same day for a discussion about the mayor’s office but did not receive enough support, she said.
“Discussion is not dangerous. Silence is,” Perkins Johnson said. “This is a leadership issue.”
The issue was previously referred to a council committee, but Perkins Johnson said it never came back for discussion. She has asked twice for updates.
Perkins Johnson also proposed a tracking system or dashboard for committee referrals. And she wants to change the requirement that the council must unanimously agree to add an item to the agenda the same night of a meeting, which is an even higher bar than adding an item to the agenda in advance.
“Council must preserve its ability to deliberate, discuss and lead on behalf of the people,” Perkins Johnson said. “The people elected 11 of us to lead the city forward, to have the hard conversations openly and to act when necessary.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 9:18 AM.
