Iowa City Council votes against punishment for disruptive comments at public meetings

The Iowa City Council voted unanimously Tuesday against creating a law to penalize people who break council meeting rules designed to curb disruptive audience members.

The vote against a municipal infraction ordinance occurred two weeks after Councilors seemed to come together on a new set of rules for their meetings that would punish rulebreakers on a sliding scale, ranging from a verbal admonishment from the presiding officer at a meeting, to the proposed municipal infraction. The ordinance would've imposed a series of fines ranging from $100 for the first offense to $500 for a third or subsequent offense.

"There would have to be a lot of things that happen before even a first offense municipal infraction would be issued. Those include being warned by the presiding officer, being asked to leave the meeting because of violations of the rules and the refusing to do so even at that point," City Attorney Eric Goers said.

Councilor Laura Bergus was the first to speak against the ordinance that she originally proposed as an alternative to arresting people. Bergus and other Councilors stressed that they do not want to criminally charge or arrest people who break council rules.

"When I asked for this civil citation, it was because we were going down the path, that I thought, of criminalizing participation in our meetings. And that was not something I was in favor of, so I offered it up as a less harsh alternative," she said.

Bergus said she is not comfortable having punitive elements when it comes to participating in meetings. Rather, she hopes people paying attention will see that there is value in letting the City Council operate in a way that lets the body get its business done.

Bergus questioned Goers about what would happen if someone refused to pay a fine for violating council rules.

Goers said such a civil penalty is typically assessed in small claims court and could lead to someone being found in contempt of court, which might bring criminal charges.

"One would not be arrested for failing to pay the fine, if that's what you're asking," he said.

Mayor Bruce Teague and other Councilors pointed out that there are ways to charge people if someone commits a crime that is already in city or state code.

Some public commenters, like Taylor Kohn, spoke against the creation of the ordinance and said any punitive measures could hurt the City Council's relationship with the public.

"It doesn't matter what the public says to you in public comment, there's never a good reason to retaliate as a governing body to someone coming before with you their concern. The answer to reducing tension with the public in public comment periods is for you to engage more," Kohn said.

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What comes next? Council will discuss rules of behavior again March 22

The City Council is still set to consider adopting new rules at its next meeting on March 22. Without the municipal infraction, there's a question of how any punishment would be enforced.

The rules being proposed are largely governed by the idea of the "germaneness" of a comment to the subject being discussed. While public commenters have many opportunities to speak, City Council rules require that comments are relevant to the subject of a public hearing.

The City Council also has a comment period where audience members are invited to the podium to speak on any subject not listed on the agenda or scheduled for a public hearing. Each speaker is given three minutes, but that time could be restricted if many people wish to speak.

Several Councilors were quick to point out that if future meetings become uncontrollable due to disruptive behavior, the council could reconsider the ordinance.

Teague said the council does have some measures it can use to prevent disruptive behavior. He said he would consider the new rules for public comment at the next meeting, but wants to see them revised to not include the municipal infraction.

Pauline Taylor said she was confused about the sudden turn by many of her fellow Councilors against a municipal infraction, especially due to the events that led up to the ordinance being crafted.

"I think that we had been feeling pressure and felt like we were being disrespected and put in a sort of villain role," she said.

Taylor voted against creating the ordinance, but said she thought the council wasn't setting out to harshly punish people, but rather create guidelines asking people to be considerate.

"There's a line there, drawn for what's appropriate and what's not appropriate in a public meeting," she said.

Mayor Pro Tem Megan Alter said she is glad public commenters have been voicing their frustrations with Councilors and said she hopes there can be more accessibility soon, especially with better weather.

"We've all been living through a pandemic," she said.

Alter asked that members of the public understand that City Council meetings are meant to allow the city to conduct its business. She said it helps policy decisions to hear from the public, but having more meaningful conversations should take place during other opportunities for public engagement, like at the recently restarted City Council listening posts.

Other council action: Hickory Trails Estates clears next hurdle

Here's what else happened at the City Council meeting Tuesday:

• The council unanimously approved the preliminary plat of the Hickory Trail Estates subdivision, which includes a senior living facility and land dedicated to Hickory Hill Park.

• The council unanimously approved the project manual and estimate of cost for the construction for the new Pedestrian Mall playground.

• The council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance amending a rule prohibiting parking in bike lanes and adding an enforcement mechanism for city staff.

• The council unanimously approved a change to the Iowa City Housing Authority voucher program, allowing recipients of the vouchers to take a leave of absence of up to 60 days from their homes.

More: Mayor Bruce Teague lifts Iowa City mask mandate after new federal guidance

George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen's local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City Council won't fine people for disrupting public meetings