A Lake County reporter argues that allowing citizens unlimited time to speak at public meetings is detrimental. She says that putting time limits on speakers will force them to make cogent arguments thus making their arguments more effective and strengthening democratic processes. -DB
October 28, 2009
By Katy Sweeny
In “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” James Stewart plays idealistic and newly appointed Sen. Jefferson Smith. The senator uses a filibuster to block action that would expel him from his seat in the U.S. Senate.
The United States Senate defines a filibuster as an “informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.”
Citizen filibusters in Lake County are not quite as romantic as the portrayal in Frank Capra’s 1939 film. They’re annoying.
For at least four hours Oct. 22, members of the public expressed their opinions to the Lake County Planning Commission on the issue of the Cristallago project. Many of the people repeated what they had said already that day and at meetings for years. Some people ranted for 30 minutes.
Yet, I’m quite certain public speakers didn’t change the minds of commissioners, nor did they grab the attention of the representatives. I doubt many people could listen and remember every word said in an eight-hour meeting.
Here’s the Planning Commission’s printed policy on public input:
“Any person may speak for three minutes about any subject of concern, provided that it is within the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission, and is not already on today’s agenda or scheduled for a future public hearing. Total time allotted for citizen’s input shall be 15 minutes.”
People should say something once and limit their comments to the allotted time, if not, government representatives should enforce policy and even increase restrictions.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors and the Lakeport City Council have similar restrictions to that of the Planning Commission, but the rule doesn’t apply to public hearings. If a person stays on the topic of a public hearing issue without repeating too many times, representatives can’t tell the person to sit down and be quiet.
This is not just a problem in Lake County. Mendocino County has similar rules. My former coworker at the Chico Enterprise-Record, Roger Aylworth, who has reported in Butte County for more than 30 years, said it’s a problem there. The Butte County Board of Supervisors theoretically has a time limit but supervisors don’t enforce it and allow people to soapbox.
Same here.
However, the Chico City Council allows for people who filled out speaker cards to talk for three minutes. Just below the councilors’ desk and in the eye site of the public speaker there’s a light that goes from green, to yellow to red. Once the red light goes on, the mayor asks the citizen to be quiet. It’s beautiful.
People have to condense their points. If the council members have questions, they can ask the citizen. I’ve seen the council ask a person to come back up to the lectern who made a good argument. Other members of the public and journalists like me can ask follow-up questions during a break.
I don’t think the council infringes on the rights of Chicoans.
I believe in the right to free speech, especially as a journalist, but diatribes in local government meetings normally express frustration and not important public commentary.
The Brown Act, also known as the Open Meeting Law in California, plays a crucial role in allowing citizens to inform themselves on government action. According to the First Amendment Project, the Brown Act requires that, “Meetings of public bodies must be open and public,’ actions may not be secret, and action taken in violation of open meetings laws may be voided.”
And for public comment, the law allows “the public to address the covered board at regular or committee meetings on any item in the agency’s jurisdiction not addressed by the agency at an earlier open meeting.”
The Brown Act protects citizens. Voicing opinions in a clear and concise manner is a cornerstone to democracy.
But Lake County filibusters don’t work. Time limitations on citizen input benefits commission members, supervisors and councilors, which in turn benefits the community.
Copyright 2009 Lake County Record-Bee
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