When Commissioner McVoy asked about responding to the residents after public comments on non-agendaed items, a normal practice that has been going on for at least a decade since I have been attending meetings, the mayor said--
WE'RE FOLLOWING THROUGH on the agenda...normally there is nothing on the agenda nor has there been anything on the agenda that the commission responds to the responses (commentary from the public)...In the last several meetings and the behavior and things that transpired in them were embarrassing as a commission and I am going to revert to what I should have been doing all along, which is following the agenda, said the mayor..
The mayor got legal advice on this one. The commission was shut right up. Normally it is the public that is given the muzzle. This is one way to get back to the Rules of Decorum at least for the elimination of outbursts from certain commissioners who have screamed their venum at the public. It shouldn't be a fist fight between the dais and the public.
And the mayor is correct--this is the people's time to speak for their two minutes. However, the commission should have the right to answer the public in a respectful way and vice-versa. The public is there to give its concerns or vocalize its agreement with the elected body on decisions they have made. We, the public, never get answers from our elected officials or when we do, it's like pulling teeth. Calls and e-mails go unanswered. "Shut the little bastards up." Denying free speech is never the way to solve anything and now this is just one more way to shut the public down.
It's okay for this administration to ruin a citizen's life for using the N word in a room with zero people, but it's not alright for commissioners to address or answer the public after they comment?
16 comments:
that was not the right way to handle an out of control vice mayor. use your gavel. commissioners have the right to speak and answer their bosses.
I am glad that Pam shut up Scott Maxwell and herself! It was getting ridiculous. As a citizen , I got to talk to my elected representatives IN A PUBLIC FORUM for two minutes. Then I had to sit silently while Commissioners like Scott Maxwell and Andy Amoroso twisted,misrepresented and downright lied about my statement.Well bull crap to that!! The ONLY thing being said after public comment should be "Thank you ,Mr. or Ms. so and so.If a citizen wants help or feed back they can ask that their Commissioner or the Mayor set up an appointment with them or call or e-mail them. Katie Mcgiveron
Absolutely right Katie! This should be adhered to.
No one should be afraid of free speech as long as the mayor controls the meeting and goes by the
rules that they have previously approved. Personal attacks should never be allowed, resident against resident or commissioner against resident. If a resident or a commissioner diverts from the Rules of Decorum, (the mayor does not seem to care about those rules) a Point of order needs to be called. The problem is, they don't do that and they sit up there bullying the very people who elected them. I was waiting for the tear gas next every time a resident tried to defend himself from the Vice Mayor who feeds his political prejudice to his small but vocal core group who clap and clap and follow like sheep. :(
Fine, the residents will never get answers now. So, what else is new? We'll get up there, give our little spiel and then take our seats like good little boys and girls. Perhaps now Andy won't look at us with those menacing eyes.
I think its better not to have a debate between public comment and the Dias. Let the public comment and the dias should be listening not planning their rebuttal. I hope this enforcement of the rules will help to calm things down.
Commission meetings should be run in an orderly fashion, it should not be a free for all on either side.
Do Pam, Scott, and Andy really think that the majority of people will vote for them again? You know, they all used to be nice people, but this power/title they have has gone to their heads, they are dishonest now and corrupt, pure evil has taken over them. It is all very sad, I will never vote for any of them again after this poor behavior by them all. They ALL need our prayers to save their souls.
"Pure Evil" ??? Pam, Andy and Scott?
My god, do you all really believe you have met "pure evil" in these three?
Charles Manson, yes. These guys, no.
This verbiage is exactly the kind of rabble-rousing, mob mentality divisiveness that we do not need again.
I am not in line with the ideas coming from McVoy and Ryan M, yet I'd never label them as EVIL human beings, just because I don't agree with them.
If sane, cooler heads can prevail, we can all meet somewhere in the middle..we have to.
But to start with the fire and brimstone a la Salem witch trials is insulting, non-productive and absurd.
The comment at 1:47 sounds exactly like the Witch Trials at Salem!!
The comment at 1:47 sounds just like every edition of the Lake Worth Herald. What a little man the editor has become. No more facts, just twisted lies. And no follow up or interviews with the people the editor is writing about. Sad.
I think you meant the comment at 7:53 anonymous at 7:32. :)
I am not in line with the ideas coming from McVoy and Ryan M,
Can you please elaborate on the ideas of McVoy and Maier that you don't agree with? It sort of is astounding as Maier hasn't been a commissioner for very long.
Please explain how "this administration" ruined someone's life?
I sure hope they find out, legally speaking.
Finally some control for us everyday citizens who wish to see the business of the city, and not bloviating, grandstanding, talking in circles, and attempts to paint other commissions in a negative light and as disagreeable.
Meetings are supposed to have a purpose and move along efficiently to get business done.
Now let's just move public comment to the end of the meeting so those of us who actually have things to do can watch our government in action and not the repetitive diatribes of those who like to hear themselves speak.
We can stay to watch the entertainment at the end of we choose.
totally AGAINST moving public commentary and commission liaison reports to the end of the meeting. Why should the citizens wait all night to speak on something? Why should they wait all night to find out what their elected officials have been doing?
That is just another idea to shut the people up and out.
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