Council member proposes to extend public comment time

 

3/23/13 – In an unprecedented move to ensure the right of the public to comment, newly elected Council member Ed Miller is proposing to extend the public comment time from 3 to 5 minutes .

Miller’s proposal, which will be on the agenda in the near future, focuses on the comment period for “items not on the agenda”. Comments under this section usually refer to issues that the public wants to bring to the City Council’s attention. Whether it is public policy, policing, health and safety issues or just announcements of community events, the array of subjects addressed under this category is endless.

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3 MINUTES NOT ENOUGH FOR MOST SPEAKERS

In most cases, speakers run out of time – after just 3 minutes their microphone times out into silence.  At this point, the speaker is at the mercy of the Mayor to turn the mike back on. History has shown that if there is too much – or repeated – criticism of the Council , the microphone will remain turned off. On the other hand, if the Mayor likes what he or she hears, the speaker may enjoy unlimited speaking time.

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MILLER REMEMBERS BEING CUT OFF HIMSELF

“It is very difficult, if not impossible, to make a point in just 3 minutes” says newly elected Council member Ed Miller. He remembers that when he led the fight against the Liberty Energy toxic sludge plant, proposed by the previous City Council during 2008/09, he was always out of time before he knew it.

Miller believes that it was largely because of his persistent criticism of the previous Council’s political agenda, that he never saw his microphone turned back on.

For example, in the following 2009 video, then-citizen Ed Miller can be seen speaking against the sludge plant (skip to the 3:28 min mark). Note how then-Mayor Bob Botts uses his gavel to shut Miller up :

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QUITE A TURNAROUND

The proposal by Ed Miller signifies a significant turnaround in the way the new Banning City Council wants to do business. Less than 6 months ago, the old Council discussed restricting public speech with speaker cards (view story) . Amid public outcry, the Council was forced to drop the proposal.

Wherever you look, elected officials usually discourage public speech – the prevailing attitude being that “elected officials know best”. The City of Beaumont, for example, mandates you fill out a card before you can speak. So does the Banning Unified School District as well as its Beaumont counterpart. The latter even went as far as to reduce the amount of time for public comment.  Ed Miller must be commended for trying to get away from this trend !

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CONCLUSION

With the new City Council many things are changing for the better in Banning. As a true grass roots Councilman, Ed Miller knows first hand what it feels like to get cut off. He says everyone deserves more time to speak. We could not agree more.

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