Hunter
02/16/22
The Iowa City City Council is tweaking the rules on the public comment section of their regular meetings, with most of the councilors in favor of removing the threat of criminal charges against disruptive attendees.
The Daily Iowan reports that the current draft of rules give the presiding officer at the council meetings, which most times would be Mayor Bruce Teague, the power to kick out attendees, ban them from future meetings, or charge them with a criminal offense if they break Council rules. There were concerns about the presiding officer having the discretion to charge someone with a crime, while Mayor Teague said that taking away the threat of criminal offenses might cause more outbursts from attendees who wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with the courts. The City Attorney pointed out that if something serious does happen at a City Council meeting, criminal charges could certainly be pursued.
There was also a discussion about responding to public comment. Currently, councilors are not allowed to substantially respond to public comments or questions at the meetings. Councilor John Thomas believes there are times when it would be appropriate to respond promptly instead of tabling the comments.
The DI says that during Tuesday’s meeting, the councilors have asked City attorney Eric Goers to draw up a near-final draft of the meeting protocols for them to go over at their next meeting March 1st.