In #Deming and #LunaCounty, these two local governments have been struggling to find ways to allow public input without the meetings becoming a circus.
Public comments can sometimes bring a lot of entertainment and some spectacle to a dry municipal meeting, but they decided there needed to be limits.
Deming got rid of public comments altogether -- but began holding monthly "town hall" meetings to let folks ask questions and comment at length. 1/2
Luna County kept comments on the agenda but a small cohort of locals paid no attention to it, and got used to standing up and talking, asking questions, giving speeches, heckling, etc. to a point where it was dragging meetings down. The chairman and county manager tried to move things along but also deferred to letting people speak.
It got so bad I started reporting about it and today they announced new limits: a comment period before the regular meeting, and no comments at the latter.
P.S. Here is one of those stories.
“…you are talking about things that are so far over our heads,” (County Manager) Brice said while struggling to conclude his presentation, as a resident stood and yelled at the commissioners about federal immigration policy: “This is on you! You have blood on your hands!”
https://www.demingheadlight.com/2023/05/18/interruptions-slow-luna-county-commissioners/
#publicmeetings #journalism #LunaCounty #NewMexico #DemingHeadlight
Algernon D'Ammassa