This is the full text of new resolution passed by the Polson City Commission on Wednesday. The first section's language was set at a leadership retreat the commissioners and city manager had last week.
City manager Todd Crossett said the language of the resolution are an intent - one that wil help keep everyone on issue and away from personal attacks is what the resolution is aimed at helping.
It will be printed on every agenda.
It seems like it was written and passed with good intention. Whether or not it will help keep the meeting flowing and allow for "diverse" opinions is a little bit of a gray area.
It wasn't defined at the meeting whether the 2-3 minute public comment on agenda items would stand. Also, several residents wondered if this resolution would hinder Roger's Rules of order. Several commissioners admitted to not fully knowing the Roger procedures.
There is often robust public comment at the meetings. Sometimes though, as it was pointed out at the meeting, the comments are off topic and tip toward personal attacks. This frustrates a lot of people, keeping them away from meetings.
As the council keeps this new resolution in mind, its also going to have to dictate its interpretation of "abusive" or "off topic" language. If the noise is cut out, maybe more people will be willing to speak up about issue.
Mayor Pat DeVries said she would do her best to regulate the comments in a way that invites "diverse" points of view, but also stays on topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment