WilCo Limits Time For Residents To Speak At Public Meetings

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — At at time when issues generating significant discussion have emerged in Williamson County, commissioner's court members have drastically limited the amount of time residents can speak during meetings.

The limit to speak is now ten minutes divided among the number of speakers who sign up to address commissioners on issues not on the agenda. That's 10 minutes as a collective total — regardless of the number of residents lined up to speak — something that has enhanced residents' frustrations, as illustrated at the commissioners court meeting on Tuesday. Previously, residents were given a maximum of three minutes each to speak.

While a new law, HB 2840, is cited by county officials as justification allowing them to limit speakers' time in addressing elected officials, commissioners have taken the guidance to exponentially cut that time further by dividing the aggregate time allotted for public comments — provisions not outlined in the new legislation.

This rough math is not outlined in the referenced legislation, only an urging for a "reasonable" amount of time be extended to residents wishing to address their elected officials. Here's how Connie Odom, the county spokesperson, broke it down in a response to a query from Patch:

• "Public comment for items that do not appear as an agenda item are limited to two minutes with a maximum of 10 minutes total. If more than 5 people want to comment, the time will be divided equally," Odom wrote.
• In terms of residents' commentary on formal agenda items, Odom explained: "Public comment for items that are on the agenda are limited to three minutes with a maximum of 30 minutes total per agenda item. If more than 10 people want to comment, the time will be divided equally."

But many residents complain those time restraints aren't enough time to express concerns on complex issues. Given a series of scandals emerging from the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, a growing number of residents have called for the sheriff's ouster or for commissioners to exert some degree of oversight. But with about one minute and 40 seconds to speak at the last meeting — divided up among the six residents who signed up to speak — those addressing their representatives about the matter had precious few seconds to air their views against a backdrop of swirling, deeply layered controversies.

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In light of such restrictions, the frustration of one resident seemed emblematic of the general feeling on the new time constraints. Before heading to the microphone, Round Rock resident Chuck Freeman aired his dissatisfaction about the new policy — earning a stern warning from County Judge Bill Gravell in the process for having spoken out of turn.

"I'm going to warn you one time, Chuck," Gravell warned the resident as the man aired personal frustration ahead of his formal comments, while a bailiff inched toward the man amid rising tension. "This is the only time I'm going to warn you. Chuck, I want you to listen," the judge continued. "Before you speak, I want you to listen to me. We have the rules and the decorum of the court. I want you to be respectful because I've been respectful to you. This is the only time I'm going to warn you," he repeated. "You have the opportunity to speak from the dais or to speak from the microphone, and you can use that time. But you're going to be respectful. Fair enough?"

Once Freeman made it to the lectern, he proceeded to call for the resignation of Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody over a series of recent scandals emanating from his office, most recently an investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement of the county's police training academy in Hutto as first reported by Patch. The probe centered on the use of racial slurs and misogynistic pejoratives used by former instructor David Nickel, who resigned as a result of the findings.

Freeman decried what he views as inaction by county commissioners in taking steps to improve the culture at the sheriff's office: "It's pretty clear you're not using your moral authority, and everybody else is having to do it — the citizens, the people in the area. Simple words: You need to resign, sheriff," he added succinctly.

Other residents similarly limited in speaking time also lashed out at the sheriff's office. Some referenced an earlier controversy centered on former WilCo Sheriff's Office Commander Steve Deaton's use of dolls to air his views on social media related to myriad current events. The Facebook page deemed offensive included lighthearted takes on date rape and calls for violence against black football players taking a knee in protest of police brutality during games among other personal Deaton views.

Facing mounting calls for his ouster, Deaton ultimately resigned. Numerous residents criticized Chody for not firing the commander by citing his constitutionally freedom of expression. Detractors also pointed to Chody's hitting the "like" button on at least one of the offensive posts — a bloody scene depicting an Elf on the Shelf doll holding a chainsaw after having cut off a black football players's legs below the knees.

Among others residents who spoke on Tuesday under the relatively new time constraints were:

• Bonnie Gardner of Georgetown questioned Chody's hiring of officers with questionable records while serving at the Austin Police Department.
• Joan Polosi of Precint 1 in Travis County aired concerns over the high turnover rate at the sheriff's office.
• "Williamson County is a professional and moral disaster," added a retired U.S. Navy captain residing in the county. "The Williamson County Sheriff's Office has again disgraced Williamson County statewide. Why is the commissioners court doing nothing?"
• Denise Gordon of Round Rock asked for an update on an earlier request for a citizens advisory committee and the hiring of an outside consultant firm to conduct a countywide climate survey to gauge "...the actions and feelings of our people of color."
• Mark Truesdale of Georgetown also railed against the sheriff's office, categorizing the state investigation of the police training center that earned a reprimand from regulators as "...a new stain upon the reputation of Williamson County. You know all about that, and I only have 40 seconds left. It's just more racism and sexism in our sheriff's department. So our inestimable Sheriff Robert Chody has generated yet another stain on the reputation of the department."

In spite of their forced brevity, other residents applauded those who continually sign up to speak at commissioners court meetings. "Let's all take a minute to appreciate these people that, although WilCo Commissioners Court has limited public comments to a total of 10 minutes, keep showing up weekly to stand up for all of us," one Twitter user with the handle Buddy Falcon wrote.

Watch the commissioners court meeting with the new time constraints.

Patch reached out to Williamson County spokeswoman Connie Odom to learn the origin and reasons for the revamped rules related to speakers' time. She said the new policy was adopted on Aug. 27 before it was posted on the Williamson County website as required by law. She provided a link to the Williamson County Commissioners Court minutes of the meeting when the new rules were approved. The rules, she explained, were implemented per House Bill 2840 that was passed during the last state legislative session.

But a careful reading of the bill has nothing to do with limiting speakers' time during the public comment portion government meetings. Instead, the legislation was passed to compel governmental bodies to allow members of the public to address any item on a meeting agenda before or during the body's consideration of the item. Furthermore, the legislation also upholds the public’s right to criticize the body, its members and actions.

The new Williamson County Commissioners Court rules were approved four days before the new legislation took effect on Sept. 1, according to information provided by the county spokeswoman. The bill was authored by State Rep. Terry Canales, a Democrat from Edinburg, Texas, one of several legislators pledging to ensure public scrutiny and accountability of elected officials and commissions.

The new law does allow governmental bodies the ability to set time limits on individual comments, so long as those not fluent in English or anyone needing translation is given twice the designated time in order to allow for the interpretation. An example when this would apply is in the event a translator (for sign language, as an example) is not immediately available for simultaneous interpretation.

Odom told Patch the revisions were made as part of the county's rules of procedure, conduct and decorum guidelines in accordance to HB 2840.

Elsewhere in Williamson County, Leander City Council also implemented similar restrictions on discussion of non-agenda items during that body's Oct. 3 meeting.

Although council members didn't do away with public comments altogether as they had originally contemplated, they limited the time residents could speak to a collective 15 minutes. Under this recently adopted scenario, 15 speakers signing up to address their elected officials would be given 1 minute to speak before council prevented others wishing to speak to address them given the 15-minute overall maximum.

City proponents of the measure cited efficiency while describing the lengthy amount of time devoted to public comments that had the effect of stretching meetings longer. Still, Leander City Council members Michelle Stephenson and Kathryn Pantalion-Parker voted against the ordinance. Numerous residents subsequently expressed their displeasure on social media.

Both Leander City Council and the Williamson County Commissioners Court previously allowed each resident to speak for a maximum of three minutes when addressing elected officials.

Conversely, Austin City Council has stuck to the three-minute rule, despite its meetings often stretching into the wee hours the following day. Moreover, speakers addressing council members are allowed to touch on several items with the exception of those reserved for executive session. Additionally, a speaker is allowed to receive donated time from a maximum of two people present with an ability to speak for a maximum of 7 minutes.

The three-minute rule appears standard outside of Texas as well. The California case of Ribakoff v. City of Long Beach, et al was centered on a man's lawsuit against the Long Beach Transit Company board of directors alleging a violation of the plaintiff's rights after not having been allowed to speak beyond three minutes on a second issue he wished to discuss, according to the Best, Best, Kriegers law firm.

An appellate court determined that the three-minute time restriction was reasonable and did not violate the Brown Act or the First Amendment. The Ralph M. Brown Act is legislation enacted by the California State Legislature, authored by assembly member Ralph M. Brown and passed in 1953, guaranteeing the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.

In essence, the California case determined public entities can limit public comment speaking time at government meetings. Yet this ruling was based on the maximum — and widely accepted — three minutes of allotted time for residents to speak that was deemed reasonable. Given commissioners' new rules, Williamson County residents were given one minute and 20 seconds short of even that minimal standard on Tuesday.

WilCo responds

Patch received a statement from Williamson County late Wednesday related to its policy on time limits on residents wishing to address their elected officials. Here, in its entirety, is the statement from county spokesperson Connie Odom:

“The new legislation (H.B. No. 2840) states that, ‘A governmental body may adopt reasonable rules regarding the public's right to address the body under this section, including rules that limit the total amount of time that a member of the public may address the body on a given item.’

“In accordance with the county’s ability to adopt reasonable rules, the county grants three minutes of speaking time for individuals to speak on an item that is on the agenda with a maximum amount of speaking time of thirty minutes for an item. The county’s rules then allow for the distribution of maximum amount of speaking time allowed for an item in the event more than ten people want to speak on an item.

"The county’s rules actually allow for more participation by individuals who wish to speak as opposed to allowing less speakers the ability to speak for more time. Additionally, the county’s rules also set for that ‘in matters of exceptional interest, the Commissioners Court may, by majority vote of the members of the Court in attendance at the meeting, lengthen the maximum overall public discussion time allowed on a particular Agenda Item.

“It is important to note that, although the county is not legally required to allow individuals to speak about matters that are not on an agenda, the county continued its practice of allowing individuals to do so during a public participation period. The county’s public participation period now allows individuals to speak for two minutes on matters that are not an actual agenda item for up to a maximum amount of ten minutes. In attempt to be fair and allow for more public participation, the two minutes per speaker time may be distributed in the event that more than five speakers want to speak during the public participation period. The Commissioners Court is also able to, by majority vote, lengthen the maximum overall public discussion time allowed for the public participation period.”