Warner Robins council considers limits on citizen comments

The Warner Robins City Council is considering putting limits on citizens who speak at the end of meetings.

Every meeting ends with people being invited to address the council. Probably the most significant new rule is a 3-minute time limit. The city does not currently have a limit.

The proposal also requires that all comments be addressed to the mayor, not to any individual council member, and it states that no questions will be answered during the meeting. It forbids people from bringing signs, political pamphlets or other political material into the meeting room.

Because it is a resolution, not an ordinance, the council could have approved it at its meeting Tuesday. But Councilman Keith Lauritsen, who presented it, said he thought citizens should have a chance to give input and the rest of the council agreed.

City Attorney Jim Elliott said the rules were compiled after studying those of other cities in the state. He said the rules were not prompted by any particular person or incident.

Councilman Chuck Shaheen objected to a rule that required people to notify the city on the Wednesday before the meeting in order to get on the agenda for the pre-council meeting. The council usually meets the first and third Monday of the month, but met Tuesday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. There is no requirement to be on the agenda to speak in the citizens comments portion of the regular meeting, but pre-council is typically when people who have a particular issue can speak and have a back-and-forth discussion with the council.

Shaheen said people could have issues come up on Thursday or Friday that prompt them to want to speak to the council.

“I think we need to revisit that part of it,” he said.

Mayor Randy Toms said after the meeting that the rules were adopted in part to try to cut down on the length of the meeting.

“We want to be cognizant of everybody’s time,” he said. “People can say in three minutes what they need to then it is our job to meet with them afterwards and make sure their needs are met. ... We are trying to set some rules of order just so we have an orderly, productive meeting.”

One citizen comment prompted some heated debate Tuesday. Rita Simon spoke to the council about flooding in her yard, an ongoing issue she has discussed with council before. When it came time for council comments, Councilman Tim Thomas said the problem in Simon’s yard had been studied by engineers and it was not a city issue. He also said she had been rude to city employees who came out to look at the problem.

When Simon tried to respond to that, Thomas cut her off, saying she had her turn to speak.

Shaheen objected to Thomas’ response.

“She didn’t directly address you,” Shaheen told Thomas. “You shouldn’t directly address her and not give her a chance.”

“These are my closing statements and I mean what I say,” Thomas responded.

The resolution will be posted at the city’s website www.wrga.gov.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Warner Robins council considers limits on citizen comments."