County Commissioners Prohibit Citizens From Saying Officials’ Names During Public Meetings — the New Rule Doesn’t Go Over Well
May 19, 2016 in News by RBN Staff
Source: The Blaze | By Kate Scanlon
DeKalb County commissioners in Georgia implemented a new rule prohibiting citizens from using the names of commissioners during the public comment portion of county meetings — and it didn’t go over very well with taxpayers.
Taxpayer Ruby Davis told WGCL-TV, “That’s my First Amendment right of freedom of speech.”
DeKalb Co. commissioners ask for names not to be mentioned at public meeting. @MurphyCBS46 > https://t.co/M2axBQBgsH pic.twitter.com/l1431APGIL
— CBS46 (@cbs46) May 18, 2016
Taxpayers blast #DeKalb commissioners for prohibiting them from mentioning their names during public comment.@cbs46 pic.twitter.com/oyA4H3cltt — Adam Murphy (@MurphyCBS46) May 17, 2016
“They forget that they’re supposed to work for the taxpayers,” Davis said. “They believe the taxpayers work for them.”
During a meeting, taxpayer Jeff Long noted that “the county’s own written comment policy does not address using a commissioner’s name during public comment time.”
“If you don’t want your name mentioned during public comment time, then stop doing outrageous, offensive, illegal and, quite frankly, stupid things,” Long said.
Also during a recent meeting, taxpayer Beth Long said, “With this rule, the message that you’re sending to us the public is that you hold yourselves above our constitutional rights,” adding, “We the public are the ones who put you in those seats.”
WGCL noted that one of the commissioners — Sharon Barnes Sutton — found a creative way to avoid hearing her name at the meeting: She arrived two hours late.
CBS46 News
