Please join me for the next meeting of the Madison County Council Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 6PM located at the Madison County Government Center, Room 110, 16 East 9th Street, Anderson, IN 46016.
If you cannot attend in person, try viewing the live stream at Public Meetings.
Click the green download button below to view this month’s agenda and supporting documentation.
As a member of the public, you may wish to pay special attention to Resolution No.2023-5C “Exhibit A” on page 23, which outlines proposed procedures for conduct of public meetings.
The aforementioned resolution will be voted on without public comment. If you have questions or concerns, please contact myself or another member of the council prior to the meeting.
My personal feedback was as follows:
Over the past two years, I have seen the rules for public comment change meeting by meeting at the discretion of the presiding officer. I know firsthand how frustrating it can be to sit in the audience and not know if public comment will be allowed on a topic you care deeply about. I was recently approached after a meeting by a first-time meeting attendee who was disappointed that the council did not answer his relevant questions asked during public comment; he expected public comment to be a question-and-answer session. We owe it to the people to give clear, consistent, written directions and expectations for public comment. For this reason, I am in favor of the council adopting a resolution to standardize our procedures for public comment during public meetings.
With that being said, I believe the purpose of the written procedures are to provide specific guidelines for facilitating public participation in meetings. Our procedures should encourage people to speak and share their knowledge and opinions with us. The people should be respected, and our procedures should not be used as a weapon to prohibit free speech or suppress viewpoints that are different than our own. I have previously seen members of the council improperly use Robert’s Rules of Order in order to suppress discussion amongst the council. I trust that the council will not use these procedures in a similar manner.
I have attached the “Resolution for Decorum in Public Meetings Policies and Procedures” from Kosciusko County, IN. I believe it to be a good example of procedures that respect public participation. I don’t agree with every point, but the verbiage is an improvement on our current draft.
I am concerned that once we pass this resolution and adopt procedures for public comment, the public will not know what the procedures are. I believe it necessary to post the procedures on our county website, like Kosciusko County, and attach it to each agenda we distribute prior to the meeting.
The Monroe County Council webpage is an ideal example of what ours should be. It includes information such as: duties of county council, contact information for all members, council meeting schedule, salary ordinances, council liaison and committee appointments, district maps, citizen appointment lists and applications, agendas, and minutes. We cannot expect people to provide valuable public comment if we do not provide them with all the necessary information prior to the meeting. We need to be completely transparent. I have attached a copy of the Monroe County Council April 2023 agenda. It is 81 pages long and includes the entire council packet.
From the attached agenda, you will notice:
Monroe County allows members of the public up to 3 minutes at the beginning of the meeting to address the council on items that are not on the agenda. Monroe County then allows for public comment prior to every single council vote. We need to give the people in Madison County the same respect and opportunity to be heard. The people deserve a council who will go beyond what is required by law and follow only the best practices.
With respect to “Exhibit A”:
The terms “public hearing” and “public meeting” are not used consistently throughout the document. The Kosciusko County document should help straighten those terms out.
We need to define exactly when public comment will be heard: Every public meeting, immediately following approval of the agenda for non-agenda items, and immediately before all council votes.
Individuals should fill out the sign-in sheet at the podium before they speak, not prior to the meeting.
I understand not wanting to hear repetitive comments. Since there is a time limit given on each speaker, I believe people should be able to state their opinion, even if someone else already did. Most people won’t be repetitive, but it shouldn’t be a reason to revoke their right to comment.
I understand the need to stay on topic, but again, we have a time limit for a reason. Sometimes a comment seems off topic but is easily tied back to the subject manner by the end of the time limit. Please let people speak.
Unless a speaker behaves in a way that is a safety concern, I do not believe they should be expelled from the meeting for discourteous statements given during their allotted speaking time.
Thank you for taking the time to work on these procedures. I appreciate you asking for feedback. I look forward to a lively discussion on this subject. I know we are already doing better than some counties, but I want our council to be the best for the people that elected us to our positions.
Sincerely,
Councilwoman Keller