Commissioners stop public comment on agenda items. May make exceptions for controversies.

SOUTH BEND — The St. Joseph County Commissioners will stop allowing comments from the public about anything that’s an agenda item at their weekly meetings.

And if you want to speak in the public comment session, which is always at the end, you’ll need to sign the registration sheet before the meeting starts. Or, if you’re tuning in online, you’ll need to register via the chat box in Zoom in the first five minutes of the meeting.

The new rules take effect starting with the meeting on Feb. 20. The commissioners meet on the fourth floor of the County-City Building at 10 a.m. Tuesdays, except for the third Tuesday of the month, which is at 6 p.m. Meeting agendas usually are posted at the commissioners' website on the Friday before the Tuesday meeting.

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Republican Carl Baxmeyer, the commissioners’ president, said he’s still open to suspending the rules when there’s a controversial topic where he knows people will want to pipe up. Examples over the past year have included decisions over Portage Manor, the transfer of voter registration to the county clerk’s office and the re-appointment of a St. Joseph County Public Library board member.

Unlike the county council’s meetings, there isn’t a public hearing before commissioners vote on agenda items. And Baxmeyer feels it’s “disengenuous” for the public to comment after a decision is made.

“This is not a dialogue," he said. “We don’t want to take time from other people for something that’s been decided on. … We are not going to get into a debate about, ‘Why did you do that?’”

If those visiting the meeting in person want commissioners to respond to a question or to follow up on a matter, they can fill out a “privilege of the floor” form anytime during the meeting and submit it by the end of the meeting. Commissioners established the form a year ago, but, Baxmeyer said, they are disappointed that more people don’t take advantage of it. He encourages the public to do so.

He announced the changes at the Feb. 13 meeting. There, Cheryl Nix, who regularly attends and comments at county meetings, urged commissioners to reconsider the changes, feeling they are “inappropriate.”

“It’s important to the citizens to let you know how we are feeling,” she said.

Another regular attendee, Mary Countryman, posed: What if she tunes in virtually and her Internet connection kicks out for a while? Or what if life delays her and she tunes in more than five minutes after the meeting starts?

Dan Caruso of New Carlisle said he’d have to figure out where the chat box is.

Tom McCormick of North Liberty, a Republican running for Tony Hazen’s District 3 seat as a commissioner this year, suggested letting online visitors sign into the chat whenever they join the meeting.

“At least you would know we are in attendance,” he said.

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Baxmeyer replied, “I don’t think it’s onerous for people online to sign in.”

The Tribune asked the office of the Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt if the changes infringe on Indiana’s Open Door Law.

Britt said that, except for school and township boards and except for special hearings, public comments aren’t required by state statute. So, he said, “a governing body can place reasonable, content-neutral rules around comment.”

Although the commissioners’ new rules may seem restrictive, he said: “It also depends on what type of crowd they typically draw. If it’s an agitated, animated crowd with lots of speakers, signing up in advance can be a good thing. But if it’s a more casual affair …, then perhaps it could be seen as overkill.”

“There are all sorts of ways to structure public comment periods and some are better than others,” Britt said.

The time that members of the public have to comment will continue to be up to three minutes. The commissioners also don’t allow comments on personnel issues.

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joseph County Commissioners stop public comments on agenda items