Portsmouth City Council on Jan. 2 elected Councilman Bill Moody as vice mayor, ratified a slate of council liaison and board appointments and adopted its 2025 meeting calendar, city officials said.

The actions came during the council's annual reorganization meeting, which opened with roll call, a brief closed session for personnel and appointment matters and returned to public session for formal votes. The council approved nominations for a wide set of external boards and internal liaison roles, confirmed a calendar of regular meetings for 2025 and recorded a public comment urging the council to preserve a public forum by holding community meetings in months when regular council meetings are reduced.

The votes followed procedural motions and roll-call confirmations. The council first moved into and later certified a closed session pursuant to Virginia law to discuss appointments, assignments and city council performance. After returning to open session, members unanimously approved the vice mayor nomination, the liaison assignments and the 2025 calendar.

The liaison ratification lists are extensive and assign council members to regional, local and internal bodies. Highlights include: Mayor Shannon Glover’s membership on regional bodies including the Hampton Roads and Southside Mayors group and several regional commissions; Vice Mayor William (Bill) Moody’s assignment as the council liaison to the Tidewater Community College board, the Economic Development Authority and the Historic Preservation Commission; and Councilwoman Katherine Bryant’s assignments to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Parks and Recreation Commission and several advisory boards. Several clarifications were recorded on the floor: Mayor Glover will be a member of the Eastern Virginia Regional Industrial Facility Authority; Councilwoman Bryant will serve as an alternate liaison to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority; and Councilwoman Yolanda Thomas will serve as an alternate to the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization.

The council also adopted a 2025 meeting calendar. Changes noted during the meeting include a move of certain Monday meeting start times to 5:30 p.m. (from 5:00 p.m.) and an August scheduling change that shifts that month’s meetings so one falls on the fourth Tuesday while the customary vacation date moves to an earlier Tuesday in August. A registered speaker, Mark Godaldi, urged the council to preserve the public-speaking function normally provided during regular council meetings and suggested that, in months where regular meetings are reduced for conferences (for example, Virginia Municipal League or U.S. municipal meetings), the council schedule alternate “council community” meetings in neighborhood locations and consider a joint school board forum in March about the education budget outlook.

All motions were adopted by roll call. The meeting concluded with closing remarks and adjournment.

Votes at a glance:
- Closed session (to discuss appointments, liaison assignments and council performance): motion to convene pursuant to Virginia Code §2.2-3711(A); mover: Councilman Bill Moody (read into the record); second: not specified on the record; outcome: approved (council recessed into closed session and later certified the closed session by roll call).
- Election of vice mayor (nomination of Councilman Bill Moody): motion and second on the floor; roll-call confirmations recorded as “Yes” from each voting member present; outcome: approved (unanimous among those voting).
- Ratification of council liaison and board appointments (full slate listed in council packet, ratified on the record): mover and second recorded; clarifications made on the floor regarding several alternate assignments; outcome: approved (roll-call affirmation).
- Adoption of the 2025 City Council meeting calendar (resolution adopting meeting dates/times): mover and second recorded; outcome: approved (roll-call affirmation).

Quotations (from speakers recorded in the meeting):
"I would offer you this substitution," said Mark Godaldi during public comment, proposing community meetings in months when regular council meetings are reduced. "In March… you and the school board would meet jointly… and have a forum about the budget outlook for education in the coming fiscal year."

Mayor Shannon Glover closed the meeting by thanking attendees and adjourning the session.

The council’s formal minutes and the full list of liaison assignments and dates appear in the city’s official docket and packet materials for the Jan. 2 special meeting.