Cape Girardeau mayor alters City Council public comment rules, limits time

Mayor Stacy Kinder announced Monday a change to the public comment section of Cape Girardeau City Council meetings that will limit how many people can speak before the council at meetings.

During the communications and reports portion of the meeting, Kinder said public comments about items not listed on the agenda would be limited to 15 minutes total. Individuals will get 3 minutes apiece. Previously, the public comment time was unlimited, although speakers were still restricted to 3 minutes apiece. No exact reason for this change was given by Kinder at the meeting.

"The objective in offering this section at our meetings is to allow new concerns to be brought to the council's attention" Kinder said in an email Wednesday.

Going forward from the Oct. 3 council meeting, those wishing to speak during the public comment period will have to pre-register online at cityofcape.org/council, using a sign-up sheet outside the council chambers or by contacting the city clerk by 4:30 p.m. the day of the meeting. The order will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis, Kinder said.

"While the city council wants and needs to allow First Amendment rights to prevail at our meetings, we do have the right to determine how long those rights are allowed to be expressed," the mayor said.

The decision was made after consulting with city staff, council members and the city attorney, Kinder said. She ultimately decided upon the 15 minute allotment. Kinder has the power to change rules surrounding public comments. One of the primary duties of the mayor of Cape Girardeau is running council meetings.

The mayor reiterated numerous times throughout her email correspondence that there are, and will be, other ways for residents to get in touch with city government and raise issues, if they can't or don't wish to speak at a meeting.

"The city staff and council members get contacted virtually every day on issues raised from citizens, so we don't anticipate any complications in communication by having this time limit at our meetings," she said.

Under Missouri law, City Council meetings are required to be open to the public unless the council votes to go into closed — also known as executive —‚sessions for hiring, firing, purchasing or sale of real estate or specific legal matters. There is no state law or city ordinance governing public comments at meetings.

The change is seemingly a response to somewhat lengthy comment periods in recent months particularly from members of Street Level — a not-for-profit lobbying the city to build a homeless shelter — and Cape Tenants — a tenant union in Cape Girardeau. Both organizations have had multiple members speak before council, oftentimes accusing council members and city officials of inaction and repeating previous sentiments from past meetings.

"This means if you're not on the agenda and not one of the first 5 people to speak, you don't get a voice. What kind of city does this? THAT'S NOT RIGHT!" a tweet from Cape Tenants's account said shortly after the mayor's announcement.

"The mayor implemented the new rule about public comment, but it reflects the concerns of the council as a whole regarding recent public comments at our meetings in which members of various groups have made the same points over and over," Councilman Mark Bliss said in an email Wednesday.

Bliss added that public comments at a council meeting were not the only way to get in touch with council members. He said he was notified by city manager Kenneth Haskin that the public comment portion would be altered but was not told specifics.

In an email Wednesday, Councilwoman Shannon Truxel said she was not consulted ahead of the meeting about the change and heard about it for the first time when Kinder spoke Monday. Councilman Robbie Guard, in a text Wednesday, said he was notified of the change prior to the meeting.

Public comments at the Aug. 15 council meeting lasted 28 minutes and included 15 speakers, the majority of whom spoke in favor of using city money to help the homeless population. Those at the Sept. 6 meeting spanned around 26 minutes and included 10 speakers and again were focused primarily on homelessness and affordable housing in Cape Girardeau. After the tenth speaker, Kinder said she felt all major viewpoints had been represented and asked for a vote to adjourn the meeting.