By John Estridge
After a major, historic change in the way the public would be treated at Brookville Town Council meetings, council walked back some, but not all, of the restrictions it placed on taxpayers and others during its meeting Tuesday, January 26.
The public is now allowed to ask questions at the end of each meeting but only on items that were on the agenda for that meeting. And council members will decide if the questions relate to items on the agenda before giving answers.
At the January 12 meeting, newly elected council member Brooke Leffingwell, at her first regular BTC meeting, moved that the public could not ask any questions during meetings. Taxpayers and others who came to the meeting had to put their questions in writing to be turned into the town clerk’s office by 4 p.m., Monday of the week where there is a Tuesday meeting. Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.
Those asking questions would then be put on the Tuesday meeting agenda. Agendas are not released until the Tuesday of the meeting so taxpayers and others would not know what would be on any meeting’s agenda until after they put their respective questions in writing and turned them into the clerk’s office either by handing them over or through email. Thus, any questions would be about items at least two weeks old by the time the public was allowed to ask questions.
The reason for the abrupt change, according to Leffingwell, was to give council members time to research answers. However, she broadened her reasoning at the January 26 meeting. She said questioning at the end of council meetings, prior to her being elected, created a circus-like atmosphere at BTC meetings.
“Before being sworn in as a board member, I sat in the audience at the board meetings as a community member,” Leffingwell said. “From this view, my observations were that a vast majority of the questions after the meeting were not about topics on the agenda. The board was often not able to answer the questions asked of them, because they did not have the data readily in front of them. This led to misinformation to spread at the meetings and often times questions had to be tabled. After these meetings, I would often receive messages from the community laughing about how the end of the meetings were unfolding and about comments that were made. It was actually referred to as a circus and being viewed for entertainment value and laughs. Our town deserves better.”
Leffingwell said having the questions beforehand allowed the board members to research the questions before the meeting.
“Having the questions and concerns on the agenda would allow for the board to locate the correct data or information that the community member is seeking,” she said.
She explained once more how she did not want meetings to degenerate into entertainment by taxpayers and residents asking questions of people they elected.
“It would eliminate misinformation as well as the ending of the meeting being perceived as an entertainment segment,” Leffingwell said.
However, one of the unintended consequences was the press could no longer ask questions at meeting’s end to gain clarity on some of the council’s actions during the meeting, Leffingwell said.
“Questions about new topics need to be submitted the Monday before the meeting at 4 p.m., and you will be added to the agenda,” Leffingwell said of her new motion. “Clarifying questions and comments about items specifically on the agenda may be asked at the end of the meetings.”
However, Facebook comments, as many people watch the meetings via Facebook due to the pandemic, will continue to be turned off so the council members can continue to focus on what is on the agenda, she said.
“Facebook live comments will remain turned off so that the board and team can focus on the meeting in progress,” Leffingwell said.
Her motion to modify the audience’s restrictions was passed unanimously.
At the meeting’s end, however, there was a series of questions regarding the proposed water and sewer rate increases by The Observer’s reporter Bridget Hayes. Even though Ward had read the first readings of the proposed ordinances regarding the proposed increases during the meeting, which means the proposed rate increases were obvious agenda items, Ward asked the other council members if they wanted to answer Hayes’ questions or wait until the public hearing on the proposed rates. The public hearing is scheduled to occur in February.
Only after a delay and apparently receiving a consensus, did Ward attempt to answer the questions.
Later, clerk/treasurer Gina Gillman asked if the agenda could be publicized earlier than the day of the meeting. It was a request by Brookville Democrat reporter Makenna Mays. However, Gillman said since reporters are allowed to ask questions concerning agenda items at meetings’ ends maybe that made the question moot. Thus, no action was taken.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Indiana’s Open Door Law states the public does not have the right to make comments or ask questions at public meetings. The public is allowed to be present at meetings and observe what goes on, per state statute. Historically, however, every other governmental entity in the Whitewater Valley currently allows public comment and has always allowed questions during the meetings. The fact Ward did not immediately answer a question on a topic that was obviously on the meeting’s agenda, and showed reluctance to answer the question after he personally read the proposed ordinances on that subject, does not bode well for transparency. This remains the most draconian restriction on the public, at least in the last 30-plus years, within the valley.
I agree 100 percent!!
Leffingwell insinuates it is the audience “creating the circus like atmosphere and providing entertainment” for those citizens caring enough to watch the live stream. Having attended 90% of the meetings myself over this past year, I must say that although there were a few unnecessary comments from the audience at times, most of the questions were relevant to either the agenda or “old business”. However, the “atmosphere” created by or added to by some of the council members should be acknowledged as well. Some of their comments over the past two years were very unprofessional, offensive and rude. This leads to my next point: if you can’t handle the heat, don’t run for office. They weren’t used to having anyone question their motives and actions, causing them to become defensive at times. I didn’t mention this last night at the meeting because it wasn’t worth starting another controversy. I think if you’ve watched the meetings in the past, you know what I’m talking about.