Attached is a post from Classykvillepolitics we felt worth re-posting
Feb 9, 2016 at 11:54 am
As someone who is very familiar with the Indiana Open Door Law, I will offer the following.
The decision by Miss Mosby to allow someone 10 minutes to talk while limiting comments from the audience is supported by the requirements of the Indiana Open Door Law. Yes, it was a crappy way of handling it, but her methods are within the guidelines.
Let me explain
Since the Indiana Open Door Law has NO requirement that a Council, Commission, or Board accept or allow public comments from citizens, the fact that the City Council has placed that allowance into their meetings is good for us citizens.
The way that Miss Mosby got around that and was able to allow more time (I think some have stated 10 minutes) for John Graybill was exactly what the CCO has pointed out: He was an “agenda itemâ€
As someone who is officially on the agenda, there are no restrictions on how much time may be utilized to address the Council, Commission, or Board. The Chair of the meeting can decide and govern the speaking time, but in reality there are no legal restrictions on someone addressing the Council, Commission, or Board.
By allowing Mr. Graybill to be an “agenda item†instead of a citizen speaking during the “open comment†period, Miss Mosby has managed to get around the 3 minute “open comment†period the City Council has adopted.
Now, don’t be fooled for a minute about the Sneagal on this. The agenda of Council, Commission, or Board is almost always decided by the Chair, which in this case was City Council President Missy Mosby. She allowed Mr. Graybill to be on the official agenda as an “agenda item,†and by doing so she was assured that Mr. Graybill would not be limited to the 3 minute restriction for an “open comment†by a citizen
Also, it is my understanding that an agenda can be changed up to 24 hours before the actual meeting takes place. I’m going to research that. But as long as the final agenda is “posted†for the meeting, which is done by taping it to the outside of Room 301, they can make changes.
Finally, here is my advice to citizens who want to do things “officially†while abiding by the rules: Request to be on the agenda.
By requesting to be on the agenda, you force them to recognize your request, and by doing so you can make it arranged so that you are NOT limited to 3 minutes as an “open comment†item.
However, be advised that agenda items for a Council, Commission, or Board are SOLELY at the discretion of the President or Chair of the meeting. Requesting to address a Council, Commission, or Board is NOT a guarantee of being allowed to speak. I can pretty much promise that for the situation we have seen under Miss Mosby that she will be tight-fisted in controlling who will be placed on the agenda and what they speak about.
But if that happens over and over again, eventually somebody will take notice and consider a complaint to the Indiana Public Access Counselor. Unless the guidelines for being accepted for the agenda to address the City Council are written down in a way that does not discriminate against certain citizens, Miss Mosby and the City Council might have a headache.
