We could soon get a peek behind the curtain of Springfield City Council discussions, related to the issue of forgiving some of the debt owed to the city by the Wyndham hotel downtown.
Aldermen will vote in two weeks on whether to release the audio and minutes of a November 2021 executive session in which they discussed the money that the Wyndham owed City Water Light and Power.
Months after that meeting, the city negotiated a deal to write off nearly a quarter-million dollars of that debt – a move that came after what was described in a news story as a “consensus” of the Council in that closed-door meeting.
Now some aldermen say there was no consensus, and say the debt forgiveness should have come back to the Council for a vote.
Alderman Joe McMenamin contends the controversy is being generated by city Treasurer Misty Buscher, who has called for more transparency on debt forgiveness as part of her campaign for mayor.
