The Board of Osceola County Commissioners has approved a measure to allow comment from the audience on issues not on the agenda at its meetings once a month.
But it’s not enough for some members of the public, who said the process still limits those comments on items the county chooses not to put on the agenda.
Prior to November 2020, citizens were permitted to speak on any topic during the “Hear the Audience”, but it was limited to items appearing on the meeting’s agenda in a resolution passed Nov. 2.
Monday’s new resolution creates a “Public Comment Meeting” each month, which will provide the opportunity for public comment on any topic other than pending or scheduled quasi-judicial items.
At those meetings, speakers will have their usual three minutes, but cannot donate time to another speaker like they can currently at a meeting. Speakers must pre-register at the county website (www.osceola.org) by 5 p.m. the Sunday before the meeting; if no speakers register, the Public Comment Meeting will be canceled.
The measure all added the ability for citizens to register their intent to participate in any of the meetings by leaving a message on a new dedicated voice mail line — 407-742-TALK (8255) if they do not have access to a computer.
The opposition from the public was that some people won’t be able to come to the one meeting a month allowed for free public comment. The county holds meetings at 1:30 p.m. (first and second Monday of the month) and 5:30 p.m. (third Monday) — what they view as incompatible for normal work schedules, or a time difficult to attend due to traffic. Then there’s the issue of attendance.
“There’s no guarantee my commissioner will be at that meeting, or that there will be a quorum for that,” Kissimmee’s Frank Rivera said.
Six speakers commented Monday, all in the hopes the Commission would restore open comment at each meeting. Kissimmee resident Josh Meyers said the new format still borders on violation of Government in the Sunshine Laws.
“Why not allow those comments for 20-30 minutes at the end of a regular business meeting?” he asked. “I think they’re walking a fine line. They’ve added extra security to the building, what would it cost to do all that for another meeting?”
Last year, Meyers successfully challenged the county in how it passed COVID-19 measures. It’s Emergency Policy Group did not advertise its meetings or offer public attendance or minutes. The county later changed that board to an advisory board that could give guidance to the Commission instead of passing resolutions.
The resolution passed Monday 3-1, with Commissioner Cheryl Grieb voting against, saying it could have been structured different, possibly with a Citizen’s Forum segment at the end of meetings.
“I’m not voting against public comment,” she said.
Those voting in favor said they’d be in favor of seeing how the new format works and revisiting it later if it is not working as intended.
