At the recent Lancaster Town Board work session Supervisor Robert Giza read a correspondence from a committee made up of town managers reading opinion on the length of time residents should be given to comment at Town Board meetings.
Supervisor Giza read from the correspondence: “The committee has the feeling that the board may limit the amount of time allocated to a person who wishes to speak at a meeting; so long as the limitation is reasonable, and three minutes appears to be reasonable.”
“We give them 5 minutes,” Supervisor Giza interjected. “I have heard of places that give only one minute.”
Supervisor Giza continued with the correspondence: “It also reads that public comment time limitations must be equally applied. For example, by the rule of public body, to allow certain citizens to address for ten minutes while others may only be allowed to address for three minutes, or not at all. Such a rule would be by committee rule unreasonable.”
Supervisor Giza declared that some people come before the board and speak for the 5 minutes allotted and go on and it’s not fair to the other people.
Council Member Donna Stempniak interjected that “if somebody has something important to say, are you saying that we can’t extend the time?”
Supervisor Giza replied, “Well, it doesn’t really say that.”
Stempniak declared that sometimes there is someone really on a roll and we want to hear what they have to say. Supervisor Giza added that sometimes they interject something and it takes away from their time. “I’m just reading what they are suggesting, Giza replied.
He continued reading the correspondence: “The board must permit negative or critical comments as well as favorable or positive comments.” (“Which we do,” added Giza.)
Comment
Supervisor Giza brings up the three minute comment guideline every so often and makes it known at the same time how generous the town is to allow five minutes of comment time. He fails to mention that the overall comment time is limited to thirty minutes, or that there are numerous occasions when the thirty minutes is reached.
Regardless, five minutes is more than enough time for a resident to present his comments, unless as Ms. Stempniak says the matter is complex, of great importance and when the town asks questions and /or interjects. There is a time-keeper and if the town is not interacting with the resident, the speaker should be shut down.
The town has been generous in running over the thirty minute time frame when a several residents speak on a controversial or complex matter.
The point is, is that the system isn’t broken Supervisor Giza, so leave it alone. Five minutes is just fine. Anything less will be perceived as an attempt to stifle public input.
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