POUGHKEEPSIE – Since assuming
the chairmanship of the Poughkeepsie Common Council in January, Natasha
Cherry has emphasized “decorum,” an issue she references frequently
during council meetings.
Second Ward Councilman Michael Young is onboard with the same issue, drafting
a lengthy revision of the “Rules of Conduct and Procedure”
for the council.
Among the notable changes that would impact citizens, who have been showing
up in large and vocal numbers in recent months, is limiting the first
public comment period to agenda items only. A second comment period, later
in the meeting, would be open to any topic.
That is the way the Dutchess County Legislature handles public comment.
“The most prominent issues of the city aren’t necessarily
the ones we vote on every day and I don’t think it’s fair,
if we had an overflow, to have people wait two hours to speak for a three-minute
period,” Councilman Randall Johnson, Jr.said. “I just don’t
think that that’s how we should handle our city business.”
The proposed transfer of city buses to the county has not been an action
item on the agenda, for the most part, this year, but it is the dominant
topic during the usually lengthy public comment period at the start of
the meeting.
Under the proposed rule revision, citizens wanting to talk about that
would have to wait until late in the meeting.
Young defended that approach, saying it puts the issue of the evening
up front for both the public and the council.
“We’ve had a lot of comments, as well about people [council
members] not being able to respond to the public,” Young said. “This
would allow for new business immediately after public comment in case
there are certain comments that arise that make the council feel the need
to respond immediately.”
That brought Cherry back to her decorum point.
“This is a business meeting and I’ve been watching the County
Leg [Legislature] meetings, I’ve been watching other common council
meetings and sometimes, our meetings turn into a circus and I don’t
see other meetings turning into such,” Cherry said. “I think
the level, the respect level, for one, needs to be increased.”
Last year’s chairman, Christopher Petsas, disagreed
.
“I think listening is the biggest that we have to do as an elected
official, to listen to the public and I believe this resolution disenfranchises
the public,” Petsas said.
The council was deadlocked and voted to table the resolution to the next
meeting.
