EDITORIAL: Re-examine city council meeting policy

Published 11:46 am Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Several weeks ago, a group of concerned residents attended a Milledgeville City Council meeting to share their concerns over a broken water main. Their request to speak, however, was denied because they did not go through protocol to be placed on the agenda to speak. City policy does not allow flexibility to be placed on the agenda at the meeting — it requires that it be done in advance, unlike the policies of some other governing bodies. We have noted previously that the city policy should address the need for emergency matters to be brought to Council. There should be some way for residents to bring their urgent concerns to the board. We understand that these shouldn’t been lengthy conversations — a time limit could be enforced as some other boards do — but there are some instances when timeliness requires matters to be brought to Council’s attention immediately.

The urgency of some matters cannot be prepared for in advance by signing up to speak beforehand.

We ask, again that City Council re-examine its meeting policy and allow flexibility for residents to speak at meetings. The city should address this issue by looking at policies for other entities — locally, the board of education and the county commissioners — or consider other city council policies for surrounding cities. Several years ago, the Baldwin County Commission amended its policies to permit residents to speak for a limited amount of time on non-agenda items. They can sign up to speak when they arrive at the meeting. Residents are still required to request their names be placed on the meeting agenda in advance if they wish to discuss an item on the meeting agenda. There are also limits on the amount of time residents can speak. That’s only fair. That’s also a reasonable compromise. It allows citizens to have their say and gives tax-paying residents a chance to have public dialogue with the people elected to represent them.

Although it is understandable for boards to require residents to sign up to speak at public meetings, some situations do not allow enough time to get a name placed on the agenda to speak. That’s sometimes unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean the matter someone wishes to discuss is unimportant.

If we want to encourage participation in local government and civics, then we should make it less complicated for citizens to address their needs and concerns. Some issues are more urgent than others and require attention sooner than the next scheduled meeting.

Milledgeville needs a more flexible policy for addressing City Council. We respectfully ask again that this be addressed.