PEEKSKILL, NY -- The Common Council has changed the rules for audience participation at city meetings, making it stricter than neighboring towns.
Under the new rules, members of the public in the audience shall not engage in shouting, unruly behavior, distracting side conversations, speaking out, clapping while another person is addressing the council, defamation, intimidation, personal affronts, threats of violence, or profanity or behavior that disrupts the orderly conduct of the meeting.
"Heckling, cat calls, refusal to cede the microphone, and racially charged outbursts have all too often obstructed the ability of the city to conduct the taxpayer's business," said Mayor Mary Foster is a statement Thursday.
Foster also said that clapping is only banned when used innapropriately.
"The rules of decorum we have established prohibit clapping as an attempt to silence and intimidate speakers at the podium, Nothing more," Foster said.
Members of the groups Peekskill Committee for Justice and the Cortlandt Peekskill Anti-Racist Collaborative have been coming to the meetings for the last year and speaking out over what they claim is racist treatment of some city employees.
The Common Council eliminated the first public comment session at the beginning of the meetings earlier this year when speakers from the two groups refused to sit down when their speaking time was done at some meetings, causing them to be prematurely shut down. Other meetings have seen heated arguments between attendees that have had to be broken up by police.
While none of the neighboring towns have banned clapping or shouting, each has its own rules for how residents are allowed to behave during town meetings, especially during public comment sessions. However, none of the town clerks interviewed said they have had to deal with circumstances like the ones Peekskill is going through.
In neighboring Cortlandt, residents are allowed to speak to the Town Board on anything on the agenda in the front end of the meeting and allowed to address the board about anything at the end of the meeting, according to deputy clerk Renee Bracken.
There is currently no time limit to how long a resident can speak but Bracken said that the board hasn't had any disruptive incidents to make the rules any stricter.
"'I've been deputy for a few years and I've never seen a incident where that has happened," Bracken said.
In Somers, meeting attendees are allowed three minutes to speak on an issue of their choice towards the start of the meetings but some leeway is given, according to Town Clerk Cathy Pacella.
"If they ask for more time [Supervisor] Mary Beth Murphy usually gives it to them," Pacella said.
Pacella said that sometimes residents are allowed to speak to the board later in the meeting if they come in late if there is time.
Pacella said that she remembered one resident who "got out of hand" at meetings on a regular basis years ago and said the police would remove him from the meetings until he eventually stopped attending.
In the Village of Ossining, residents get four minutes to address resolutions and three minutes at the end of the meeting to address the board on any issue. Village Clerk Mary Ann Roberts said that a timer is used to enforce the time limit but it is used sparingly.
"They're usually allowed to finish their thoughts," Roberts said.
While there have been some unruly visitors in the past, Roberts said the police chief is present at the meetings and that order is maintained.
"You need order to get the people's business done," Roberts said.
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