CommentsCITYWATCH TODAY—The word going around LA’s City Council chambers is that the public blinked recently and Mr. Wesson and his merry Trumpsters reduced Public Comment time. It’s like having 15 Trumps sitting around the council chamber’s horseshoe. What’s next: renaming city hall Trump Tower?
Friend Barbara Broide has been in the activist trenches for a considerable number of years. She knows who’s behind the curtain and who’s pulling the strings. She thinks … to paraphrase a bit … that if there’s a need to expedite things maybe cutting back on some of those pay-to-play presentations would be a better place to start … than public comment. Here’s Barbara’s email. See what you think.
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Are you aware of the council measure that changes Rule 7 of the rules of the City Council to … reduce public speaking time?
It appears that it was adopted on Sept. 30th.
One part of the proposal establishes a place at the beginning of the agenda for "Multiple Agenda Item Comment" so that if you have come to Council and wish to comment on more than one agenda item, you will be given time (within the permitted cumulative total of 20 minutes) to address the Council in a combined time slot. That will the only time when you will be allowed to make public comments.
This also means that those commenting at the very start of the meeting will not have the benefit of being able to hear staff report information or any other exchanges that may take place during the consideration of the item.
It also means that if your items appear late on a full agenda (and if you want to hear what is said), that you will have to get to Council early in order to submit your speaker cards (and stay late to hear what happens during the items of interest).
If there are a number of speakers wishing to comment on multiple items and the 20 minute time slot has been filled (if each person is allotted up to 3 minutes (1 minute/item) then it is conceivable that only 7 public comments will be allowed. In that case, one would have lost the opportunity to speak on 2 or 3 agenda items and would not be allowed to comment on any of those when they came up in the agenda.
Does this also mean that we will be unable to turn in comment cards after the start of a meeting?
It appears to mean that it will be impossible to hear a staff report and decide at that point in time to submit a comment card based upon what was reported. Here’s the link.
Another part of the measure establishes a one minute comment time for public comment. There is still discretion given to Council members conducting public hearings as to the amount of time that will be allotted for those providing testimony.
There is a compilation of comments you can read from those who spoke on Sept. 30th.
More info here.
Bootleg Transcript of Public Comment defenders at September 30, 2016 Rules Committee meeting & Council President Wesson's summation.pdf
This info was derived from comments left on the CityWatch website in response to an article entitled: Human Compassion in Short Supply in LA’s City Council Chambers
Barbara Broide.
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Check it all out. Let us know what you think. At the rate your City Council is going, this may be your last opportunity for public comment.
Ken Draper-Editor, CityWatch
