On a previous post, I stated that, in my opinion, the Town Council took an illegal vote last night under Council Rules and Procedures. I believe there are multiple ways in which the vote to limit the public’s right to comment was illegal. 1. In order for a vote to be taken, the agenda must clearly state what is to be voted on. Agenda item #3 only said, “Council Rules and Procedures.” If the Council was going to vote, the wording should have been something along the lines of, To discuss and take action on changes to Council Rules and Procedures. I base my opinion on this sentence from Ch. 3 Sec. 3 of the Plymouth Charter: “All ordinances and resolutions shall be confined to one subject which shall be clearly stated in the title.” If someone had had access to the agenda prior to the meeting, he would not have been aware that there was to be a vote on changing Public Comment to limit freedom of speech. 2. When the Council members receive their agenda with less than 24 hours notice, as was the case for this meeting, it is a violation of the Councils own Rules and Procedures. Under their Privilege of the Council”, item e states the following: A final agenda must be in the hands of the Council Members on the Friday preceding the Regular Council meeting. All packets are to be ready for pick up by each Council Member by 2:00 p.m. on the Friday before the Council meets on the first Tuesday of the month. Now, technically, even though it was the first Tuesday of the month last night, it was a Special meeting. But, the intent of such a rule is to give the Council time to read all of the material in their packet. It also gives them time to talk with their constituents, to get their feedback. In this day and age, with email, there is no reason for the Council members not to receive an agenda according to their own rules, unless someone has something to hide, in my opinion. 3. In my opinion, I believe the vote was also illegal because it was in violation of Ch. 3 . Sec. 3 of our Charter which states that “the public shall have input THROUGHOUT the meeting.” If the individual is limited to only addressing the Council one time per agenda item, then the individual is not having input THROUGHOUT the meeting. 4. A fourth way I believe the vote was illegal is based on Ch. 9 sec. 3, sub. Sec 1 which talks about the public’s “right to know.” The public had NO KNOWLEDGE that our Freedom of Speech was going to be discussed and possibly limited. Sub. 1. Right to know. The public’s right to know shall be guaranteed in accordance with the principles embodied in sections 1-19, 1-20, and 1-21 of the Connecticut General Statutes. This right shall be further assured by the provisions of this section of the charter. A deliberate violation or denial of the public right shall be considered cause for dismissal or recall proceedings in accordance with section 3, chapter V, of this charter and section 7, chapter II of this charter. 5. The motion on Public Comment was written and stated in this way: “The agenda item “Public Comment: shall be designated as a regular item on all “REGULAR” Plymouth Town Council meetings.” The quotation marks around the word “regular” was also emphasized by Mayor Merchant’s voice implying that on SPECIAL Town Council meetings, there might NOT be Public Comment. If this ambiguity were to remain in place and future Special Town Council meetings had no Public Comment due to the ambiguity of the motion that was approved last night, it would be in violation of Ch, 9 Sec. 3, sub. sec. 2 of the Charter which states the following. Sub. 2. Meeting procedures. All meetings of all Plymouth town government boards, agencies, commissions, committees, or sub-committees shall be open to the public with the exception of a duly authorized executive session, properly called and conducted under the provisions of the Statutes referenced in the foregoing section. ALL MEETINGS and minutes of meetings shall be conducted and recorded in accordance with established rules of parliamentary procedure and SHALL INCLUDE ‘Public Comment; as an agenda item…….Notices of all meetings shall be properly publicized, and such notes shall meet the requirements of the applicable Connecticut General Statutes, Plymouth town ordinances, and rules established by individual boards, agencies, commissions, committees or sub-committees. On another post, Peg asked if there is any recourse to this potentially illegal vote. The answer is yes. An individual Council member who voted in favor of the motion to make a motion to reconsider the previous motion. Only Councilman Bill Heering cannot make the motion because he was opposed to this limitation of freedom of speech. Members of the public can also file a Freedom of Information complaint with Tom Hennick at the Freedom of Information Commission. See the link below. On a previous post, I stated that, in my opinion, the Town Council took an illegal vote last night under Council Rules and Procedures. I believe there are multiple ways in which the vote to limit the public’s right to comment was illegal. 1. In order for a vote to be taken, the agenda must clearly state what is to be voted on. Agenda item #3 only said, “Council Rules and Procedures.” If the Council was going to vote, the wording should have been something along the lines of, To discuss and take action on changes to Council Rules and Procedures. I base my opinion on this sentence from Ch. 3 Sec. 3 of the Plymouth Charter: “All ordinances and resolutions shall be confined to one subject which shall be clearly stated in the title.” If someone had had access to the agenda prior to the meeting, he would not have been aware that there was to be a vote on changing Public Comment to limit freedom of speech. 2. When the Council members receive their agenda with less than 24 hours notice, as was the case for this meeting, it is a violation of the Councils own Rules and Procedures. Under their Privilege of the Council”, item e states the following: A final agenda must be in the hands of the Council Members on the Friday preceding the Regular Council meeting. All packets are to be ready for pick up by each Council Member by 2:00 p.m. on the Friday before the Council meets on the first Tuesday of the month. Now, technically, even though it was the first Tuesday of the month last night, it was a Special meeting. But, the intent of such a rule is to give the Council time to read all of the material in their packet. It also gives them time to talk with their constituents, to get their feedback. In this day and age, with email, there is no reason for the Council members not to receive an agenda according to their own rules, unless someone has something to hide, in my opinion. 3. In my opinion, I believe the vote was also illegal because it was in violation of Ch. 3 . Sec. 3 of our Charter which states that “the public shall have input THROUGHOUT the meeting.” If the individual is limited to only addressing the Council one time per agenda item, then the individual is not having input THROUGHOUT the meeting. 4. I believe the vote was illegal is based on Ch. 9 sec. 3, sub. Sec 1 which talks about the public’s “right to know.” The public had NO KNOWLEDGE that our Freedom of Speech was going to be discussed and possibly limited. Sub. 1. Right to know. The public’s right to know shall be guaranteed in accordance with the principles embodied in sections 1-19, 1-20, and 1-21 of the Connecticut General Statutes. This right shall be further assured by the provisions of this section of the charter. A deliberate violation or denial of the public right shall be considered cause for dismissal or recall proceedings in accordance with section 3, chapter V, of this charter and section 7, chapter II of this charter. 5. The motion on Public Comment was written and stated in this way: “The agenda item “Public Comment: shall be designated as a regular item on all “REGULAR” Plymouth Town Council meetings.” The quotation marks around the word “regular” was also emphasized by Mayor Merchant’s voice implying that on SPECIAL Town Council meetings, there might NOT be Public Comment. If this ambiguity were to remain in place and future Special Town Council meetings had no Public Comment due to the ambiguity of the motion that was approved last night, it would be in violation of Ch, 9 Sec. 3, sub. sec. 2 of the Charter which states the following. Sub. 2. Meeting procedures. All meetings of all Plymouth town government boards, agencies, commissions, committees, or sub-committees shall be open to the public with the exception of a duly authorized executive session, properly called and conducted under the provisions of the Statutes referenced in the foregoing section. ALL MEETINGS and minutes of meetings shall be conducted and recorded in accordance with established rules of parliamentary procedure and SHALL INCLUDE ‘Public Comment; as an agenda item…….Notices of all meetings shall be properly publicized, and such notes shall meet the requirements of the applicable Connecticut General Statutes, Plymouth town ordinances, and rules established by individual boards, agencies, commissions, committees or sub-committees. On another post, Peg asked if there is any recourse to this potentially illegal vote. The answer is yes. An individual Council member who voted in favor of the motion to make a motion to reconsider the previous motion. Only Councilman Bill Heering cannot make the motion because he was opposed to this limitation of the publlcs freedom of speech. Members of the public can also file a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission. See the link below. ct.gov/foi/site/default.asp
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 03:24:52 +0000
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