At the Latta Town Council’s special meeting on Thursday, the council took positive action that will restore order to their meetings, will lead to greater transparency, and will empower all citizens by adopting a policy on how public comment will be handled.
Since the early 1990s, there has been an item on the Latta council agenda called who-so-ever will.
Items such as who-so-ever will, citizens reports, or even council member reports create catch-all categories where literally any topic can come up at a moment’s notice. Other citizens may be interested in these same topics, but have no idea that a particular topic is going to be discussed because it doesn’t appear on the agenda so they miss out simply because they don’t know what’s coming up at the meeting.
These types of catch-all categories really undermine the Freedom of Information Act because it doesn’t give true public notice as to what is going to be discussed. It decreases transparency for citizens, has council members and staff unprepared to address issues if they so choose, and prolongs meetings as many issues can be handled satisfactorily by staff or council committees without ever having to coming before the full council.
The new policy, while it requires signing up prior to meeting to be on the agenda and limits the speaking time, does not silence the public because citizens can still speak as part of the agenda. It increases their opportunity to be heard by making their topic known to the public prior to the meeting through the agenda. It allows the citizens the time to prepare for and make intelligent and informed presentations instead of spur of the moment rants, complaints, or unorganized thoughts. It creates an environment where citizens’ issues are public knowledge and other citizens who may have the same issue can attend and listen to what is being discussed. The time limit keeps the agenda and the meetings on track and prevents meetings from becoming prolonged marathons.
This is not a new idea. Many municipalities and boards across the state have similar policies in place.
A 2019 Attorney General’s opinion affirms that public comment sessions are optional, not mandatory, and that public bodies can establish rules to govern them by. A 2023 opinion further affirms that relevancy requirements, time limits, and rules preventing speakers from yielding their time to other speakers are all perfectly legal.
In our own community, the Dillon County Council is and has long been a shining example of how to conduct a meeting the right way. They have no citizens reports/who-so-ever wills or council reports on their agenda. Every matter to be discussed by council or a member of the public is on the agenda so there is never a doubt as to what is going to come up at a meeting. The way they handle their agenda is a credit to them and is in the true spirit of what is intended by the Freedom of Information Act.
The truth is that council meetings are business meetings where the officials who are elected conduct the public’s business–they are not public forums for everyone to jump up and voice an opinion.
It’s a good thing to see the Town of Latta heading in this positive direction. Citizens will actually find themselves more informed about the business of the council meeting and will be given more opportunity to attend if a topic of interest to them is being discussed. Meetings will be greatly shortened to a more reasonable time making it more conducive to attend. It’s a win for citizens, and it’s a win for meeting transparency, and those are both good things. Kudos to the Latta Town Council for taking a step that will be beneficial to everyone.
–Betsy Finklea
Editor, The Dillon County News, LLC
VIEWPOINT: Town Of Latta Heading In Positive Direction With New Meeting Rules On Public Comment
