Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn will introduce a resolution requiring Starkville residents wishing to speak at board meetings to fill out an application for comment time.
The first-term alderman’s proposal is unlikely to find traction amongst her peers, as four representatives say they will not support it as written.
At each meeting, members in attendance may deliver comments on any topic for up to three minutes. This portion of the meeting occurs after the board sets the day’s agenda and the mayor and aldermen make their own comments.
If the proposal is passed, residents will be required to deliver the application to City Hall by 5 p.m. Thursdays prior to Tuesday board meetings once officials begin utilizing Starkville’s new administrative home this fall or winter for such gatherings.
City agendas and e-packets are not finalized and published for public inspection until Friday afternoons, and board members routinely add business at the table.
“Failure to deliver the Citizen Comments Application for the forthcoming meeting will result in a rejection of the application for the forthcoming meeting and a delay of granting (it) until the next following regular meeting of the mayor and board of aldermen,” the proposal, as listed on the city’s e-packet, states. “(CAO Taylor Adams) shall use discretion to contact the applicant to determine if any complaints about the city can be resolved in advance of the…meeting. The applicant promises to cooperate to see if any complaints can be resolved (beforehand).”
Documents included with the e-packet also state officials with other Mississippi cities that limit public discourse — Columbus, Hattiesburg, Oxford, Tupelo and West Point — were polled in advance of Wynn’s proposal.
Requirements similar to Wynn’s proposal are implemented in Columbus, West Point and Tupelo, but members of each municipality also noted low public attendance in each of their responses, documents state.
In an email to The Dispatch, Wynn said she has “had the material for this measure since February” and said out-of-town residents have appeared and spoken during past public comment sessions.
“Presently there are no guidelines for the Citizen Comment agenda item for the City of Starkville. Anyone can come forward and speak on any subject matter for a period of three minutes. The City of Starkville is perhaps the only area municipality that doesn’t have any protocol for citizen comments,” she wrote in the email. “One cannot just show up the evening of the meeting (in other municipalities with similar rules) and speak to council members. I have provided every board member and the mayor with information on several other municipal guidelines for citizen comments. This is nothing new for other municipalities.”
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Ward 3 Alderman David Little and Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker each said they would vote against the measure Tuesday.
“I do not believe that we need to alter our approach to citizen comments,” Walker said. I believe it should remain as it appears on the agenda. Requiring citizens to finalize whether they need to be heard at the upcoming (board) meeting, before the final agenda is available for public view, does not exhibit an open government where all citizens have the right to speak about the issues of the day.”
Carver said Wynn’s proposal “came out of nowhere” since recent public comment sessions have lacked the divisiveness and vitriol of past experiences, a sentiment Little echoed Sunday.
Alderman Scott Maynard, who said knowing a resident’s problem would allow the board and city to act on it quicker and more efficiently, acknowledged the current public comment session policy is not routinely delaying board meetings.
Dispatch reporter Alex Holloway contributed to this article.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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