The Branson Municipal Code Section covering the right of the public to speak during public comment meetings, Section 2-55, is in the process of being revised and will be one of the few regular agenda items discussed at the regular business meeting of city of Branson’s board of Aldermen on Jun. 11. Section 2-55 is important because it is what gives those wishing to speak during such meetings the right to speak and sets forth the conditions under which they may speak.
It logically follows that any changes to this Section can either enhance the opportunity for open government and the effective exchange of information between those wishing to speak and the city of Branson’s elected representatives or reduce that opportunity. For what it’s worth, with a tweak here and there, in an Ole Seagull’s opinion, the proposed changes, on balance, are positive and improve the opportunity for open government and the effective communication of information between those affected by the actions of the board and the board.
The major impetus for the change was a situation where newly elected alderman Stephen Marshall wanted to ask a question of a speaker after they had spoken. He was informed by city attorney Paul Link that, under the code provisions governing the meeting, although he could ask the question, the person to whom he was asking the question could not respond.
The proposed change to specifically address that specific issue provides that “There may be an additional five minuets for comments and questions from the mayor, board of aldermen, and/ or city staff directed to the speaker for the speaker’s response.” This is intended to provide the aldermen, the mayor, or city staff a chance to ask questions and get additional information to effectively respond to the speakers concerns. It is important to note that these five minutes is an option that is solely within the control of the mayor, aldermen, and city staff and is nothing over which the speaker has any control to trigger.
Probably the major change is the wording that, at first blush, appears to reduce the time speakers have to speak from ten minutes down to five minutes. In actuality that is not the case simply because under the current language any aldermen could ask any question or make any comment they wanted during the ten minutes the speaker was allocated and it came out of the speakers ten minutes. If a speaker had been speaking for one minute and an alderman wanted to make comments for nine minutes the speaker’s time was up and that was it.
Although the proposed change only gives the speaker five minutes to make their presentation it extends that time by any time the speaker is interrupted by questions or comments from the “mayor, board of aldermen and/ or city staff.” The ability of the mayor and board of aldermen to interact with the speaker while they are speaking without taking away from their time should, in the opinion of an Ole Seagull, enhance the opportunity for effective communication between those speaking and the city of Branson’s elected representatives.
The only real problem the Ole Seagull has with the proposed changes relates to the provision that adds “city staff” to the list of parties that may interrupt the speaker during their allocated five minutes. In an Ole Seagull’s opinion, the speakers five minutes should be uninterrupted except for questions and comments from the very elected officials the speaker has signed up to address. City staff should be listening, taking notes, and responding, as appropriate, during the five minute period set aside for additional questions and comments.
In any event the specific changes are on line at http://cityofbranson.org/ and can be accessed by going to Agendas and Minutes and clicking on the Agenda for 06/11/07. Those wishing to express any concerns or suggestions regarding the changes have an opportunity to do so, either by contacting one of Branson’s elected representatives prior to the meeting and/or by attending the meeting and doing so.
