Akron City Council adopts limits on public comment period, prompts shouts of 'shame!'

Akron City Council on Monday voted to overhaul the process for members of the public to speak at meetings, creating new restrictions despite residents' vehement objections in the weeks leading up to the decision.

Council voted 8-5 in favor of the comment period changes and 8-4, with one abstention, on new security rules that the public follow must to be allowed entry to meetings. The rules go into effect in 30 days.

The number of people who will be allowed to speak to council during the public comment portion will be limited to 10; a three-minute cap will continue for each speaker.

No speaker addressing council during public comments will be allowed to do so more than once every 30 days. Those wishing to appear will be required to file a form with the clerk of council by 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

The new rules also limit what attendees can bring into a meeting, requiring them to go through a security screening on their way into City Hall.

Prohibited items include backpacks and bags larger than 12-inches by 6-inches by 12-inches; banners, flags, posters, or signs; whistles, horns, noisemakers of any kind; smoking or vaping devices; and laser pointers. Anyone possessing a banned item will be required to remove it from the Municipal Building before being allowed to enter Council Chambers.

It also moves the public comment period up to the beginning of the proceedings and changes the meetings' start time from 7 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Similar rules are under consideration by Cleveland City Council and on Monday, a man brought a lawsuit against the body for allegedly infringing on his First Amendment rights when it cut off his public comment in September.

More: Let the public speak. Akron City Council should be cautious about meeting changes

'We signed up for it'

Council members Nancy Holland, Shammas Malik, Tara Mosley, Russ Neal and Linda Omobien opposed the measure to restrict public comment. While Neal abstained from the vote on restricting what people are allowed to bring into Council Chambers, the other four also voted against that proposal.

During council's afternoon committee meetings, Councilman Donnie Kammer said the changes could always be revisited at a later date.

Omobien said she has learned much from residents during public comment, and she never imagined restrictions like these being imposed.

Mosley reminded council that it was Akron voters who approved the addition of a public comment period to City Council meetings.

"And now this body," Mosley said, "is moving to silence them." She said it wasn't fair or right to restrict the public's ability to speak to council, and that attempts to do so will "backfire."

She acknowledged that what City Council hears from residents can sometimes be uncomfortable, but, she said, that's the job.

"We signed up for it," Mosley said. "And to now say, only a few of you can speak — don't bring a banner, don't bring a sign, don't speak up, don't speak out — we might as well just close the council chambers to everybody because that's what we're doing."

Malik, the mayor-elect, reiterated concerns he raised during Monday's committee meetings that the matter ought to be left up to the incoming council to decide. He added that he was concerned about the legal ramifications of the policy.

"In this day and age when there's more tension than ever, there's more disagreement than ever, there's strong feelings about a lot of issues," Malik said, "I understand the need to try to improve discourse and dialogue and decorum; but I do think that putting a limit on the number of people is not going to change people's tones. In fact, it may well do the opposite."

Public outcry

As soon as the vote was finalized, members of the audience called out, "Shame!" prompting Council President Margo Sommerville to pound her gavel and warn them that if they didn't maintain decorum, they would be removed from Council Chambers.

Prior to the meeting, a letter signed by over two dozen people and organizations — including Judi Hill of the Akron NAACP and Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board Chairman Kemp Boyd — was sent to City Council, urging them to "make measured judgments on the proposed Rules changes concerning public participation in council meetings, and ask that you take into consideration certain amendments to the legislation to ensure concerns about public accountability are addressed and Charter-given rights to public comment are upheld."

The suggested changes include maintaining the previous council rules with no new restrictions, allowing people to sign up to speak to issues on the agenda before council votes on them and giving the public time to speak at committee meetings as required by Section 33 of the City Charter.

During the night's public comment period, George Johnson, labor and government liaison for the Mendenhall Legal Group, praised council for passing the restrictions.

Acacia Reynolds, one of many who spoke against the measures, criticized council members who voted for the restrictions and thanked those who voted no.

"Do you see that flag in the corner that you all make a show of pledging allegiance to at the beginning of the meetings?" Reynolds asked. "Do you? Or is it just a rote experience that you don't even think about anymore? Because our amendments in the Constitution say that we have the right to speak to our governing bodies. A right, not something you can just pass a rule on. Sorry, I know you don't like to hear from us, but we're still here."

Following the public's comments, Councilman Jeff Fusco said, "We have heard from our constituents, and we will continue to hear from our constituents, and we will continue to do the good business of the city."

Outside the meeting, roughly 15 members of the public who had been in the audience stood at the Council members' parking lot fronting Bowery Street, sometimes blocking them from driving out of the lot and shouting at them — calling them cowards, and more.

On the sidewalk outside City Hall, Janos Jalics said these measures will do nothing to make council more secure. He said he hopes that the new council being seated Monday will revisit and repeal the legislation.

"I find it extremely shameful," Jalics said, "and it's quite restrictive of our freedom of speech."

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron City Council votes to limit public comment period at meetings