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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) A Valley City man who wanted to be on the city agenda to talk about why Police Chief Fred Thompson should be terminated was denied the privilege because the city said the request lacked due process.

Bob Drake said his constitutional rights of free speech were violated by the city for not allowing him to be on the city agenda.

City Attorney Russ Myhre said city employees and department heads have the right to due process concerning personal attacks made against them in a public setting.

Drake said the city is going down a slippery slope not allowing citizens to speak publicly about issues concerning the city.

Under North Dakota’s Open Meetings law the public is entitled to see and hear what government entities are doing during a public meeting. The open meetings laws do not require public input into those meetings.  

Personnel issues aren’t supposed to be debated at a public meeting unless it is a grievance hearing according to North Dakota Century Code (NDCC 44-04.)