Common Council Committee To Review Rules for Public Comment

Personal attacks, threats and inappropriate language from public speakers against individual members of the Common Council and city staff members do not lead to a safe and open environment during Common Council meetings, Alderwoman Joan Francoeur told the other aldermen on Tuesday.

The council and mayor needs “to ensure a safe and open chamber where dignified and productive debate on issues can take place,” Francoeur said.

“I think it is the very least the citizens of this city deserve and want,” Francoeur said. “Let me explain very explicitly what I am not doing through this request. I am not just reacting to some recent statement or action but rather to gradual and continued decline in the level of civility that I observe taking place during the business meetings of this council and in front of this committee.

"I am not asking for public comment to be eliminated. I am not at this time even suggesting that comments be limited to agenda items. And I am not trying to restrict citizens the use of free speech guaranteed by our First Ammendment rights."

Therefore, a subcommittee of the Waukesha Common Council will soon begin to develop potential rules for public comments during the city meetings, the council decided Tuesday night.

The Common Council does not intend to limit or prohibit public speaking; however, it wants to address the decorum in City Hall. Some aldermen mentioned that civility has not been present in the past six month from many of the speakers.

The council recently changed its public comment rules to extend the amount of time each speaker can talk from two minutes to three minutes.

 While Alderwoman Kathleen Cummings agreed that the public comments have been inappropriate, she placed the blame for the lack of decorum in Common Council meeting on the chair of the meeting, who is Mayor Jeff Scrima.

“We stated there will be no personal attacks but they have continued,” Cummings said. “… We might lose what I fought so hard to have because decorum did not occur in the chambers and you allowed it.”

Alderman Duane Paulson noted that sometimes ask questions and want a response from the Common Council. However, under Open Meetings Law, the elected officials can’t respond to the comments, questions or concerns during the meeting.

“The only voice that is being silenced is mine,” Paulson said. “I can’t respond to it. I have to sit here and listen to it.”

Alderman Paul Ybarra said holding decorum in the Council Chamber is not just up to  the chair of the meeting but is also the responsibility of the Common Council. However, Ybarra said, the Common Council members do not necessarily call people out of order because there is not clear rules in place.

“There is very little outlined for the chair or council to go on what is acceptable,” Ybarra said.

Francoeur agreed.

“We all have that responsibility,” she said. “We are here to help the chair.”