LA. OPEN MEETINGS LAW AND CITIZEN COMMENTS AT SHREVEPORT COUNCIL MEETINGS

Citizens who have witnessed city council meetings since January of 2019---either in person or by streaming--have been subject to a non-productive trend that has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.

Citizen comments, expressing opinions on issues parroting virtually the same words, have ballooned to the point that the time spent on citizen comments often exceeds the time spent on other council matters. The comment period is for any citizen attending a council meeting at government plaza. 

With ZOOM council meetings, citizens comments via email are accepted. This has also increased the number of repetitive ,virtually verbatim messages.

Adding to the time-consuming comment period is  the fact that the same exact comments can be made/sent at the first reading of ordinances and resolutions  and at the second reading before a vote on those that require 2 meetings/readings before adoption ("two-readers").

For example the same comments opposing the proposed no smoking at casino moratorium that were read at the June 23 council ZOOM meeting will be most likely read AGAIN into the record at the July 14 meeting. There goes another 30 minutes or more of wasted time.

The Open Meetings Law requires a public comment period prior to action on an agenda item. the statute clearly states that "the governing body may adopt reasonable rules and restrictions regarding such comment period."

Thus the Shreveport city council can restrict comments espousing the same position to a limited time period. Also, the council can preclude the presentation of the same comments at two consecutive council meetings before the vote on a resolution or ordinance.

Since ZOOM council meetings may continue for quite some time, it can be anticipated that more and more emailed citizen comments using the same template will only increase. These repetitions ad nauseam add little to the meeting.