At the very end of this Rhino article about a supposedly conservative Greensboro City Council hiring a federal lobbyist, John Hammer drops (what I think) is a pretty big bombshell —–“both Assistant City Manager Andy Scott and Planning Director Dick Hails have been placed on suspension” by City Manager Rashad Young.

I think we know that Scott’s misinformation on the federal bond program is what (rightly) got him in trouble, but what did Dick Hails do to warrant suspension? I haven’t seen his name in relation to the bond-mix-up very much. Hammer said the council “didn’t talk about it because it is a personnel matter. Nothing from the city, and if it appeared in another media outlet, I missed it.

Back to the federal lobbyist, Hammer says it “appears that the majority on the council is inclined to give in to every whim and fancy of the city staff.”

All of which involve pots of money, and the federal government shipping ’em like there’s no tomorrow. But it never hurts to go for more, huh?

Update: The N&R reports in Saturday’s edition that Scott was “reprimanded” for not turning over a consultant’s reports casting doubt over the downtown hotel’s financial projections to City Council members before it was released to private hoteliers Mike Weaver and Dennis Quaintance.

The so-called ‘reprimand?’ Scott was docked a vacation day. Not sure what to believe here. Meanwhile, Greensboro resident Jean Brown asks why “there’s not someone on this council who can investigate the staff who gave misleading information to the council” and “why are these people still on staff after misleading our elected leaders about this proposed, so-called luxury hotel?”