•Comments on Following the Rules_G. Pace
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Citizen Statement to Council on Following the Rules of Order and Procedure
-Greg Pace, Westmoreland Drive, August 9, 2010
Madam Mayor, I’ve read and studied the “Rules of Order and Procedure of the Council of University City Adopted October 9th, 2006.” I have also perused the pertinent sections of our charter as regards this topic.
Council rules delineate two types of meetings: regular sessions and special sessions. Now those sessions can be either open or closed based on sunshine law dictates. But neither the council rules nor the charter ever references the meeting type of “study session.” Apparently this is an unofficial or colloquial term and I believe that it was adopted specifically to limit the rights of the citizen by not allowing them to speak.
Madam Mayor if you chair an open meeting of the council, any open meeting, then by the dictate of rule 8 in section II of the council rules, you must allow citizen comment. You can invent whatever title you choose to call the meeting, but the citizens still have a right to be heard.
As regards citizen comments, the council rules expressly grant the right to address council to citizens and only citizens, and I would like to see that rule enforced. Non-citizens may contact council via phone, fax and email, but they should not be allowed to speak during citizen comments. Council is, and always has been, free to add non-citizen speakers to the agenda. But that is initiated by council and it allows the citizen advance notice of the speaker and the topic.
And a final note, Madam Mayor: In the last study session I attended, the City Manager interrupted the proceedings on more than one occasion to interject. It may very well be that the City Manager has valuable insight to the topic at hand, but the City Manager is not a member of council and should never be allowed to interrupt the proceedings. If the City Manager has that right then I also claim that right and will exercise it. The City Manager can use the City Manager’s report to inform council of all things important. And the City Manager can reply to any direct question from council. But outside of that the City Manager must not be allowed to interrupt and interject. The City Manager does not have that right.
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• UCityCitizen.org • Paulette Carr, Ward 2 Councilmember, City of University City • University City, Missouri 63130 •