TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A constitutional professor and a Tallahassee immigrant rights group are sounding the alarm that City Hall is limiting how long members of the public get to address the mayor and commissioners.<\/p>\n
The motivation and rationale behind the decision remains murky \u2014 the long agenda just has two new words on it: \u201c30 minutes.\u201d <\/p>\n
The clerk confirmed to WCTV on Tuesday afternoon that all Tallahassee city residents will have a total of 30 minutes combined to talk about issues that aren\u2019t on the agenda.<\/p>\n
Multiple city hall watchers, including advocacy groups, staffers and a constitutional law professor, say the new policy is a departure from decades of practice.<\/p>\n
Normally, the \u201cunagendaed speakers\u201d portion of the agenda can go on for hours as each person receives three minutes to say whatever they like. Now, that time could be limited to just ten people.<\/p>\n
More Tallahassee news:<\/p>\n
Bill Proctor, a Leon County commissioner and constitutional law professor at Florida A&M University, speculated as to why the change has been added to the agenda. <\/p>\n
\u201dPerhaps it\u2019s an effort to cherry-pick those persons who sign up, and maybe their voices the city is tired of hearing from,” Proctor said. \u201cMaybe there are voices that call them out and they don\u2019t want those voices to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
WCTV asked the clerk who put this new policy into place and why they did so, but has yet to hear back.<\/p>\n
The decision comes about a month after a commission meeting ended abruptly as immigration rights activists refused to give up their signs and got loud. The meeting never restarted, and Wednesday will be the first chance for those groups to address City Hall since. <\/p>\n
Tallahassee ALERT issued a statement saying the 30 minute time limit is \u201cstrangling local democracy.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cLimiting public comment is restricting free speech and strangling local democracy. This is yet another attempt by the current administration to silence the voices of the people. Any elected official who supports this direct assault on democratic participation has no business holding public office,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n
Dot Inman-Johnson, former mayor and leader of Citizens for Government Accountability, also questioned the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can they arbitrarily limit the public\u2019s access to express their concerns to their elected officials beyond the limit of 3 minutes already restricting the public\u2019s access? Some meetings may not require more than half hour; but on major issues affecting the community that may not allow public input from everyone submitting speaker slips,\u201d Inman-Johnson said in a statement to WCTV.<\/p>\n
WCTV was told that the city commissioners themselves could vote to put the old policy back into place, and we\u2019ve asked them each for a statement. This article will be updated as we receive more of those comments. <\/p>\n
Commissioner Jack Porter:<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone deserves a chance to be heard and address their elected officials. We should be expanding opportunities for public input, not limiting them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Jeremy Matlow:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people have a right to redress their grievances. Lord knows there is enough of them that you can\u2019t cram that into 30 minutes. I do not support the new limit and I am always willing to stay until the City Commission hears from every speaker that wishes to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tune into Eyewitness News at 5 and 6 p.m. to watch the full story. This article will be updated later this evening with more details. <\/p>\n
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