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SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday night's Salt Lake City Council meeting was delayed by nearly 30 minutes after a proposed ordinance to shake up public comment rules at meetings was met with strong jeers and heckles by residents opposed to the ordinance.
The measure caps the public comment period at one hour for general topics and encourages residents to be respectful of each other's opinions. There's no time limit for public hearings on specific issues like land use or budget matters.
Council members voted unanimously to approve it after residents were ushered out of the council chamber following a second delay.
"We arrived at this solution during a public discussion where we weighed the very important policy goals we are charged with, including how we allocate resources amid increasing demand for city services and ongoing population growth," the City Council wrote in a statement after the meeting.
The motion only appeared on the council's agenda this week. Some of the council's recent meetings were extended by residents urging the City Council to adopt a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Middle East. The city ultimately passed a resolution last month calling for peace, while also delicately inserting itself into the international conflict.
Salt Lake City Council Chairwoman Victoria Petro didn't say if that inspired the change; however, she said meetings have been prolonged by long general public comment periods several times over the past few years, which have varied in "intensity." These, she contends, have resulted in strains on resources, especially time.
"This last legislative session, for me, was a real eye-opener on the finite resources that we have," she said during an informational meeting about the public comment resolution earlier in the day.
The city reviewed public comment policies at various other U.S. cities to craft the changes implemented Tuesday. Salt Lake City attorney Katie Lewis said she believes the changes "balance the needs" of creating efficient meetings without overstepping First Amendment protections.
The discussion carried over into the formal meeting, where the City Council abruptly moved to pass the resolution without public comment.
"I personally have received multiple statements from constituents who have felt at our recent meetings that they have (felt) unsafe to comment," said Salt Lake City Councilman Chris Wharton. "They don't want their public tax dollars going toward meetings that don't have an end."
This was met with strong jeers from people who had come to the meeting to speak against the resolution. Wharton called for a short recess to calm down the situation, as the crowd hurled insults and booed the council. It temporarily resumed nearly 20 minutes later, but was then stopped again for about 10 minutes by another disruption.
The room was ultimately cleared out and resumed without an audience before the council adopted the measure. Public comments can also be submitted in written form either in person or online. Emails and phone calls can also be accepted as public comments.
