The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances among our essential American liberties.
That sounds great, but are those rights a reality? In Indiana, the answer is, it depends.
Consider this guidance from the Indiana Public Access Counselor’s office about Indiana’s Open Door Law (ODL):
“The ODL does not guarantee the right to speak at public meetings” of government bodies. “Although an individual has the right to attend and observe all public proceedings, no specific statutory authority allows an individual to appear before and address a governing body.”
In the absence of state requirements, local governments are left to develop their own policies (or not) on when members of the public may speak during public meetings.
Fortunately, most members of local boards, councils, commissions and other public entities recognize that good government demands that time be set aside at meetings to provide the people they serve an opportunity to speak on matters important to them.
A case in point is a new policy for public comments at Columbus City Council meetings.
The council has customarily permitted comments from members of the public that relate to items of business that come before the council during public meetings, but the new policy puts in writing a comment policy that serves the public well, ensuring a forum for residents to address matters that are not on the agenda.
As The Republic’s Brad Davis reported, the policy requires that people who wish to address the council fill out a form prior to the time set aside for public comments. Anything the council has authority over may be discussed, with the exception of city personnel matters. The policy makes clear that comments are to be directed to council members only rather than the mayor, department heads or individual city employees.
“… We want people to be able to come and say and discuss and share their opinion on any agenda item — or in this case at the end of the meeting — any non-agenda item, because I think they should be afforded that opportunity here, regardless of what the (Indiana) Code says,” said Council President Frank Miller.
We agree. It’s in everyone’s interests — the public’s and the government’s — to foster and facilitate civic engagement. There is no better way to ensure that the government is responsive to public needs and concerns.
That said, decorum is important, and the policy also sets minimum expectations that those who address the council will do so respectfully.
The right to speak is not unqualified. We have seen that right abused in public meetings before, and rather than call out specific instances, we’ll simply say that those who abuse their right to speak in public meetings do their cause more harm than good.
Good and sometimes great things can result from active and engaged members of the public, especially when those who address their elected officials do so thoughtfully.
We applaud Columbus City Council for adopting a policy making it clear that responsible public input is welcomed and encouraged. We believe every entity doing the public’s business ought to do the same.
