Changes to public comment rules are rejected
Hamilton County residents can still speak before the County Commission concerning items not on the agenda without providing a week’s notice to commission staff.
Last week commissioners voted on a resolution that, among other procedural changes to County Commission meetings, would have required citizens wanting to speak on items not on the meeting agenda to inform commission staff a week in advance of their intention to speak and the subject on which they wanted to comment.
A sentence stating “the discussion of matters previously addressed to the commission may be denied due to repetitiveness” was removed from the resolution “because of the difficulty of determining what repetitiveness is,” Hamilton County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said at the April 17 meeting.
Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, proposed an amendment that would restrict citizens from speaking more than once a month at commission meetings on items not on the agenda.
Taylor advised against the amendment, which failed when put to vote.
Commission Chair Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah, said the intention of the change to the public comment period that was included in the resolution was not to prevent the public from speaking during commission meetings.
If passed, the resolution would not prevent citizens from speaking on items on the agenda before they were voted upon, and citizens would still be allowed to speak on items not on the agenda during the public comment period held at the end of commission meetings if they provided notice to commission staff a week in advance, he said.
“In the last three minutes, all we want you to do is get on the agenda so that we can ensure that you have time,” Eversole said at the meeting, referring to the period at the end of each commission meeting reserved for public comment on items not on the agenda. “We do want to know what you want to talk about so that we can be prepared for your discussion, but it’s leaving it open for the general public to come in and talk.”
Commissioner David Sharpe,
D-Red Bank, proposed another amendment that eliminated changes to the public comment period from the resolution. That amendment was included in the resolution unanimously approved by the commission.
“I’m struggling with the practicality of this and how it’s going to impact our ability to provide this opportunity for those who come here with legitimate questions or concerns or comments and would like to be addressed as they have in the past,” Sharpe said at the meeting.
The commission has already implemented the other procedural changes included in the resolution, and with its passing those changes are now codified in writing, Taylor said.
The resolution prohibits speakers from singling out or verbally attacking commission members, county employees or their family members.
It also includes a requirement for commissioners to present matters not on the meeting agenda to the chair within 48 hours of the meeting for the chair’s approval to be included in the meeting. Commissioners or other elected officials wanting to read a statement that does not relate to items on the agenda must read the statement themselves and file a copy with the clerk’s office, according to the resolution.