Lake Wales City Commission approves resolution setting time limit for public comments

Tuesday night’s meeting of the Lake Wales City Commission served as an example of what will not happen again.

Speaker after speaker argued against limitations on public speaking, imploring the panel not to adopt proposed changes on the rules for public comments. In the process, the speakers exceeded a 45-minute time limit that the commission was considering.

In the end, the city commission voted 3-2 to adopt the resolution, though commissioners first revised the proposal, removing one of the elements that drew the most criticism from citizens: a requirement to sign an affidavit pledging to be truthful.

Public comments extended for slightly more than an hour, a duration that won’t be possible again under the rules the City Commission enacted with Tuesday’s vote. Speakers will now be limited to 45 minutes, though the mayor or other presiding officer may extend that to one hour if circumstances dictate doing so.

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Previously: Chaos erupts as Lake Wales City Commission considers proposed rules on public comments

Of the 20 spectators who spoke before the City Commission’s vote, all but two urged commissioners to reject the resolution. Speakers decried the proposal as “anti-American,” accused commissioners of seeking to stifle and intimidate citizens and said they were seeking a solution to a nonexistent problem.

Before voting to adopt a resolution, commissioners revised the original proposal, following suggestions from Mayor Jack Hilligoss. They scrapped a requirement for speakers to sign an affidavit swearing to speak truthfully “under penalty of perjury.”

Commissioners also kept the time allotted for individual comments at five minutes, discarding a provision to reduce the interval to three minutes.

With those revisions, the only significant change was capping all public comments at 45 minutes, unless the presiding officer grants an extension. Lake Wales previously had no limit on the duration of public comments. The resolution initially set a limit of 30 minutes before the commission approved a revision.

Hilligoss was joined by Commissioners Daniel Krueger and Danel Williams in approving the resolution. Commissioners Robin Gibson and Terrye Howell voted against it.

Tuesday’s meeting followed a previous session that devolved into chaos, leading Hilligoss to order the chamber cleared and then adjourn the meeting without a vote on the resolution. Though passions ran high on Tuesday night, Hilligoss made no attempt to quell the frequent applause, a breach of decorum that had prompted him to have the audience removed from the previous meeting.

That meeting turned into a standoff between Hilligoss and Catherine Price, who refused to leave the chamber after the mayor ordered the room to be temporarily cleared. After an exchange in which Hilligoss told Price she was risking arrest, the mayor resumed the meeting only to end it prematurely.

The City Commission passed a resolution in 2020 setting rules on public comments. During Tuesday’s meeting, Hilligoss said that the Commission was not allowed to revise those rules by resolution and therefore needed to adopt a new one.

David Jones, one of the residents opposing the resolution, said that commissioners have an obligation to hear the views of Lake Wales citizens.

“It's a basic tenet of cordial interaction to listen to your constituents, and to put restrictions on that is not only rude, it's anti-American,” Jones said. “What I'm talking about is the core of your existence as an elected official, part of your duties is to listen to the people you serve.”

Juanita Zwaryczuk held a handmade sign that read, “If it’s not broken don’t fix it. Just vote no,” as she sat among the overflow audience. At the lectern, Zwaryczuk accused the commissioners of “high-handedness” in proposing to restrict public comments. She referred to a previous controversy, Hilligoss’ rejection last June of a request for an LGBTQ Pride month proclamation.

“The only way you seem to be able to deal with diverse ideas is to shut down voices that disagree with your own personal opinions by creating this proposed resolution,” Zwaryczuk said. “This resolution, however, which stifles and intimidates public input, is doing nothing but dividing us. It’s reinforcing discontent in your leadership by a growing number of citizens, as you can see right here.”

Dianne Schmoyer was among the speakers who criticized the inclusion of the affidavit in the original version of the resolution. A retired teacher, Schmoyer said that citizens who speak at meetings often express opinions and should not have to worry about being accused of perjury for what they say.

“In my opinion, the purpose of the speaker card and affidavit is to intimidate Lake Wales citizens who might want to express their opinions to commissioners in a public meeting,” Schmoyer said.

Resident Charlene Bennett said that a diverse cross-section of Lake Wales had expressed opposition to the proposals. She said residents had a proud history of “speaking truth to power.”

Bennett said that Hilligoss has not objected to applause at previous meetings when it was directed toward him.

“It seems apparent that those in opposition believe that the intent of this resolution is to limit citizen participation because that participation is not valued,” Bennett said, adding that “just the opposite should be the norm.”

Some of the speakers criticized Price for refusing to leave the chamber during the previous meeting, even as they argued against the proposed restrictions on public comments.

Price made no mention of her previous standoff with Hilligoss during her comments. She expressed frustration that residents are not allowed to speak at other meetings, such as City Commission workshops, during which city business is discussed and debated.

“Good leaders don't make (decisions) in a hermetically sealed vacuum,” Price said. “They listen to their constituents and they seek out people that are knowledgeable on the issues they are voting on. … This resolution sends a strong message that citizen participation is not warranted and will not be regarded when making decisions.”

Another resident, Stephen James, questioned the need for a time limit on public comments. He said the average meeting length since Hilligoss took office in May has been 86 minutes.

“Over the course of eight months, the time allowed for citizens to voice concerns is minuscule,” James said. “So it seems to many of us that the argument for more efficiency or control or what have you appears rather disingenuous.”

Price and others pointed out that other cities in Polk County do not set limits for the time allotted to public comments.

Some of the discussion Tuesday night involved a provision that many citizens didn’t realize had actually been adopted in 2020. That resolution restricted those making general comments to Lake Wales residents and taxpayers, with utility customers allowed to speak only on utility issues.

The new proposal revised that criteria to include residents and owners of properties or businesses, eliminating confusion about whether non-residents who shop or dine in Lake Wales could be considered taxpayers.

Bruce Francis and a few other residents tried to make comments Tuesday night, only to be told by Hilligoss that they weren’t eligible as non-residents. Francis said he lives a block outside the city limits.

“All the good ideas in this world do not exist in Lake Wales,” Francis said.

Francis said he wanted to address the issue of water, but Hilligoss interrupted to say he wasn’t allowed to speak, as utility customers may only comment on items specifically about utility service.

“I’m speaking on my ability to only speak on my utilities,” Francis said.

“You’re playing word games,” Hilligoss retorted.

Two speakers offered their support for the proposal.

Bud Colburn, a member of the Lake Wales Code Enforcement Board, said that the premature ending of the previous meeting exemplified why strict rules for public comment are needed. Colburn said that he always prepares a written script and times himself in advance before making comments at commission meetings, and he suggested that other citizens could do the same.

“There is no reason any other citizen should find this insurmountable,” Colburn said. “To go up in front of the Commission armed solely with emotion and no topic organization or persuasive arguments in a respectful manner invalidates the very topic one so desperately wants heard.”

Another resident, Rachel Pooley, thanked the commissioners for their work and apologized that “you have to listen to people insult you for the time that you give.”

Speakers both opposing and favoring the resolution drew applause from spectators.

During discussions among commissioners before the vote, Gibson said Lake Wales’ leaders could benefit from hearing the opinions of people who don’t live within the city limits. Hilligoss pointed out that the rule about city residence was enacted when Gibson was on the board but before the mayor himself took office last year.

When the City Commission took up its discussion of the resolution, Gibson and Howell — the longest-serving commissioners — offered lengthy explanations of why they opposed it.

Gibson, a lawyer, spoke of the historical transition from “the divine right of kings” to representative government with the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.

“People became the sovereign, with the ultimate authority of government,” Gibson said. “Elected officials, like the five of us, are only representatives. Our constituents are the sovereign. We have a duty to listen, determine the collective judgment and apply it to our decision-making process.”

Gibson said he preferred general policies over rigid rules.

“The best meetings are those conducted by a judicious presiding officer working under the guidance of stated policies,” he said.

In response to Gibson, Krueger said that in a representative government the citizens surrender some of their authority to elected officials.

Howell said she had heard from many constituents who were displeased with the proposed rules for public comments. She said she didn’t consider the audience applause at the previous meeting to be disruptive.

Howell questioned a line in the introductory section of the resolution stating that it was “in the interest of the public to establish reasonable limitations” on public comments at meetings.

“Right then, it just, like — no,” Howell said. “Why are we limiting them?”

Hilligoss consulted with City Attorney Chuck Galloway at times during the commission debate. Galloway acknowledged that asking citizens to sign an affidavit of truthfulness had created an unintended “chilling effect” on public participation.

Instead, the Commission opted only to have a sign-in sheet at meetings so that audience members could signal their intention of speaking.

“The sign-up form was certainly, I think, much more intimidating than anyone intended,” Hilligoss said. “We didn’t see it. And what we’re asking for (now) is just a simple signup.”

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Wales City Commission approves time limit for comments at meetings