DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The Decatur City Council has changed rules for when the public can comment during meetings after a vote Monday night.
After hours of discussion, the council voted 4-2 on the new policy changes, which include restricting public comment to a 30 minute portion at the beginning of council meetings. Previously, citizens had been able to comment during agenda items.
Additionally, the mayor or acting mayor can now interrupt speakers who are deemed profane, crude, or threatening.
Council members Bill Faber and David Horn voted against the changes, while Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe and Chuck Kuhle, Lisa Gregory and Pat McDaniel voted in favor. Councilman Rodney Walker was not in attendance.
City Manager Scot Wrighton said that the change is meant to keep meetings civil and allow comments from both sides of an issue. Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe told WAND News, "Every other governing body in Macon County has the same rules we adopted tonight and many are much more strict... We cut down on everybody being able to comment on every single agenda item."
Click here for WAND's past coverage on this issue. A PDF document containing the changes is attached, with the citizen comment topic addressed beginning on page 20.Â
