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http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090913/NEWS01/709139978&frompost=1
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Will board set limits on citizen time?
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BY DOUG DONNELLY
doug@monroenews.com
The chairman of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners has asked county attorneys to draft a proposal that would limit the amount of time citizens can speak at county board meetings.
No formal discussion has been scheduled, but William Sisk, chairman of the board, said the idea has surfaced because of complaints he has received about people “rambling on and on” at board meetings.
“I field at least five complaints every week about certain individuals rambling on at meetings,” he said. He heard about some things that other counties do to limit time and discussed the matter with township attorneys. Right now the board has no time limit in place.
“I said, ‘let’s put something together and we’ll take a look at it,’” he said. “I think we are putting the cart before the horse a little bit here (on having a newspaper story in The Evening News about the idea). We haven’t even discussed this yet or scheduled when to discuss it.”
Mr. Sisk said the item did surface at a board agenda committee meeting and commissioners decided to refer it to the board’s personnel committee.
“They haven’t set a date for it,” he said. “It will probably be this calendar year. … This isn’t a bylaw change, it’s a policy change.” The county legal team has drafted a proposed plan for the committee to review.
Jan Jay of Exeter Township frequently speaks at county board meetings and has done so for years. He said he absolutely believes the board is looking into such policy directly because of him and things he has said at the podium over the years.
“You cannot silence the citizens when they are upset or feel they have been betrayed,” Mr. Jay said. “… A lot can be said in five minutes.”
Mr. Jay said he attends board meetings and speaks his mind when he feels government has done something inappropriate or needs to be questioned, not just to ramble on and on about a topic. He also said such a rule would have to be enforced equal-ly, meaning no one could stand up before the board and praise them for more than the allotted time, just as they couldn’t spend more time questioning them or critiquing their actions.
“What is it they are afraid of ? The truth?” Mr. Jay said.
This isn’t the first time the idea of shortening or limiting citizen comment time has come before county commissioners.
In 1996 the board discussed, but ultimately rejected, changing its bylaws to include limiting the amount of time for citizen comment.
In 2001, the full board considered a policy that would limit public comment time to a total of 15 minutes and to three minutes for each individual speaker and would also make speaking a more formalized process, asking for name cards to be filled out.
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">Copyright 2009 Monroe Publishing Co. 09/13/2009
Ask few questions on spending , ban on guns in county buildings and failure to comply with Americans with disabilities .
http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090913/NEWS01/709139978&frompost=1
.
Will board set limits on citizen time?
[align=justify]
BY DOUG DONNELLY
doug@monroenews.com
The chairman of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners has asked county attorneys to draft a proposal that would limit the amount of time citizens can speak at county board meetings.
No formal discussion has been scheduled, but William Sisk, chairman of the board, said the idea has surfaced because of complaints he has received about people “rambling on and on” at board meetings.
“I field at least five complaints every week about certain individuals rambling on at meetings,” he said. He heard about some things that other counties do to limit time and discussed the matter with township attorneys. Right now the board has no time limit in place.
“I said, ‘let’s put something together and we’ll take a look at it,’” he said. “I think we are putting the cart before the horse a little bit here (on having a newspaper story in The Evening News about the idea). We haven’t even discussed this yet or scheduled when to discuss it.”
Mr. Sisk said the item did surface at a board agenda committee meeting and commissioners decided to refer it to the board’s personnel committee.
“They haven’t set a date for it,” he said. “It will probably be this calendar year. … This isn’t a bylaw change, it’s a policy change.” The county legal team has drafted a proposed plan for the committee to review.
Jan Jay of Exeter Township frequently speaks at county board meetings and has done so for years. He said he absolutely believes the board is looking into such policy directly because of him and things he has said at the podium over the years.
“You cannot silence the citizens when they are upset or feel they have been betrayed,” Mr. Jay said. “… A lot can be said in five minutes.”
Mr. Jay said he attends board meetings and speaks his mind when he feels government has done something inappropriate or needs to be questioned, not just to ramble on and on about a topic. He also said such a rule would have to be enforced equal-ly, meaning no one could stand up before the board and praise them for more than the allotted time, just as they couldn’t spend more time questioning them or critiquing their actions.
“What is it they are afraid of ? The truth?” Mr. Jay said.
This isn’t the first time the idea of shortening or limiting citizen comment time has come before county commissioners.
In 1996 the board discussed, but ultimately rejected, changing its bylaws to include limiting the amount of time for citizen comment.
In 2001, the full board considered a policy that would limit public comment time to a total of 15 minutes and to three minutes for each individual speaker and would also make speaking a more formalized process, asking for name cards to be filled out.
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">Copyright 2009 Monroe Publishing Co. 09/13/2009
