Rules for public comment loosened in St. Clairsville
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Future City Council meetings could be more lively after members voted Monday to relax the rules for public participation in those sessions.
Council voted to suspend the three required public readings of legislation and to pass an ordinance modifying the rules for members of the public to speak during council meetings. Guests will now provide a written statement of the issue to be brought before council, not a summary. Council also eliminated the provision that an issue that had been discussed at a previous meeting could not be brought before council again. Also, a spokesperson will no longer be required should multiple people wish to bring an issue before council.
Guests will be allowed to speak for three minutes each. A 15-minute period for public discussion will also be reserved at the end of meetings for members of the audience to address council.
Councilwoman Beth Oprisch, who has spoken in favor of modifying or discarding restrictions on public comment, was in favor of the modified rules being passed and going into effect immediately.
"This is the right thing to do, to give people greater access," she said.
After the meeting, Oprisch said the new rules should go into effect immediately and apply at the next meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 20.
"If somebody wants to come, they don't need to write a summary. They can just tell us why, and if multiple people want to speak, they can all say something. I think what it did is try to loosen the restrictions and hopefully make meetings more welcoming and accessible for the public," she said.
Oprisch said council had put the restrictions in place four years ago during efforts to address hotly-contested issues such as the future of water service in the city.
"I feel like it was to ... minimize the involvement of some residents," she said. "I feel like there's a certain decorum we have to have in meetings, and people will be expected to speak respectfully. And that'll be up to our council president to control if that doesn't happen, but for 99.9 percent of the people, they are respectful and we have this council that to me seems like a venue for people to communicate with the council members."
She said there have been few controversial issues that brought out the public in more recent years.
"I did feel like it was a way to organize a meeting by having people on an agenda. That's why I voted for it four years ago. But listening to people and reassessing my vote from back then, I feel like it's too restrictive," she said.
Oprisch encourages public participation.
"We want the public involved. We want to know what people think," she said. "If there's multiple people who have an opinion about something, I don't think we should limit it to one person."
Oprisch will be leaving council at the end of the year, as she did not seek relection.
Council President Jim Velas will be responsible for maintaining order during council meetings. He could not be reached for comment after Monday's meeting.
Council meetings are held at 7 p.m. the first and third Mondays of each month at the city building, 100 N. Market St.