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SARATOGA SPRINGS — John Safford shuffled among the three-dozen or so public spectators attending the night’s gathering inside the Saratoga Music Hall, exchanging pleasantries and engaging in conversation.
Draped in a dark navy blazer and a white button-down shirt accented by a burgundy tie, Safford carried with him a bottle of Saratoga-label water and a rectangular leather organizer from which unfolded the night’s meeting agenda and a draft copy of new “Public Meeting Expectations and Rules” the council will, in some form, be looking to implement.
“Can we be seated please?” said Safford, as the clock ticked closer to the 7 p.m. start of his first meeting as the city’s new mayor. “Let’s get this thing going.”
Mayor Safford and Public Safety Commssioner Tim Coll represent the two new members of the five-person City Council. They are joined by council returnees Jason Golub (Commissioner of Public Works), Dillon Moran (Commissioner of Accounts) and Minita Sanghvi (Commissioner of Finance). The city’s long-standing Commission form of governing equally provides each of the five councilmembers one vote at the table.
Two city Supervisors do not vote at the council table, but instead represent the city with voting power at the county level as members of the Board of Supervisors. They are: returning Supervisor Matt Veitch, and new Supervisor Michele Madigan – the latter of whom had for a decade served previously as city Finance Commissioner.
The most immediate change of the first-and-third Tuesday of the month council meetings featured a return to a previous format; council meetings will now have a 7 p.m. start-time - one hour later than had been the case the past six months, and the relocation of the supervisors’ reports to the meeting’s end.
The Public Comment period which had allowed each speaker up to four minutes to address the council has been trimmed to three minutes, and a 30-minute limit overall set to allow members of the public to address the City Council.
“Public Comment has been a subject that was very much a part of this last election,” Mayor Safford said. “The other thing we’re going to be very interested in doing is making sure there are no comments… or response that you might give from the audience to what’s being said. And this is true as well at the council table.”
A clock will be displayed atop the council table indicating to speakers how much of their time remains, the mayor added. “We’re going to be quite strict about timing.”
A two-page draft titled “Public Meeting Expectations and Rules” was made available at the meeting in the Music Hall Tuesday night.
The draft calls for those wishing to speak during the Public Comment period to sign their name and address on a sheet prior to the start of the meeting - a process similar to the method used at county Board of Supervisors meetings.
The proposed Rules of Decorum and Order prohibit behaviors disruptive to the conduct of the meeting. Specifically, the draft reads: “disorderly, disruptive, disturbing, delaying, or boisterous conduct which may include, but is not limited to, handclapping, stomping of feet, whistling, making noise, use of profane language or obscene gestures, yelling or similar demonstrations.” Signs, placards, and the distribution of literature are also to be prohibited in the meeting room during a meeting.
Should the rules be violated, Safford will first request the rule violator to cease their conduct, with a verbal warning to follow should the violation continue.
“If the person does not cease the violation the presiding officer shall declare the person to be out of order at which time the Sergeant-at-Arms may take steps to remove the person(s) from the meeting room,” according to the draft copy of Public Meeting Expectations and Rules. “If applicable, such person may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties that may apply to their conduct.”
A lengthy council discussion was had regarding the restriction of “handclapping” and general displays of emotion and what may be allowed, as any expression - celebrating the recognition of an achievement award, a response to a statement albeit popular or unpopular - may temporarily cause interruption of the rhythm of any meeting.
“There is a certain amount of flexibility that the chairman (the mayor) has as to what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable,” Safford said. Members of the council subsequently initiated discussion about how to best ensure that the rules for allowing any public expression are applied equally to all meeting attendees, whether they be popular or unpopular. There is more work to be done.
Initial discussions regarding the proposal took place at the council’s hour-long pre-agenda meeting earlier that day. Safford stressed that the pre-agenda meetings are where he would like much of the council’s debate over agenda items to take place. The pre-agenda meetings – typically held in the past on a Monday morning and lightly attended by the public, have preceded the much larger publicly attended Tuesday night regular meetings.
“If we’re going to have any controversy over any of these, I’d like to air them out here, before we have a problem tonight,” he said at the morning pre-agenda meeting on Jan. 2, later adding “this is what we want to do at this meeting: get all this stuff aired out so we don’t have this kind of conversation tonight.” Of the Tuesday night gatherings, Safford said, “this should be the most boring meeting of the month.”
The mayor said he hopes to have the new Public Meeting Expectations and Rules document fully prepared and ready for vote at the council’s next meeting, on Jan. 16.
