Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 3-9-18

Local
City Council To Change Public Comment Rules
Tampa Citizens Review Board
Launches Community Survey
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Recently, members of the Tampa City Council voted unanimously to draft an ordi- nance that governs the rules for public comments. The First Reading of the proposed ordi- nance will be read at the March 15 meeting.
City Councilman Frank Reddick said the proposed or- dinance will prohibit any pub- lic speaker from using derogatory language or launch a personal attack on any mem- ber of City Council, or any city official.
Councilman Reddick
said the new ordinance, if passed, will be read at the be- ginning of each City Council meeting.
“The speaker will be warned and if he or she contin- ues, that person will be es- corted out by law enforcement. If it continues after that, then we will look into suspension.”
He further stated that when he brought the subject up for discussion, the vote was unan- imous to move forward with drafting the ordinance.
The ordinance states in part: “E. All persons shall at all times conduct them- selves in accordance with Council rules. Persons fail- ing to do so shall be ruled out of order and may be di- rected at the discretion of the Chair to be removed
FRANK REDDICK City Councilman
from the Council Cham- ber...
“F. Speakers shall re- frain from disruptive be- havior, including making vulgar or threatening re- marks...
“G. No one present dur- ing a Council meeting shall engage in disruptive be- havior, including inten- tionally making or causing to be made any disruptive
sound or noise, or display- ing signs or graphics in a manner disruptive to the proceedings.
“H. The Chair shall rule out of order any member of the public who shall speak without being recog- nized or who shall not ad- dress Council from the podium or other estab- lished speaker area.
“I. No weapons or ob- jects that may be used as weapons shall be allowed in the Council Chambers...
” During the March 15th meeting, members of the pub- lic will have an opportunity to make comments about the newly proposed ordinance.
Those wishing to voice their opinions about the ordinance will have an opportunity again at the Second Reading of the ordinance on March 29th.
If the rule change is insti- tuted, it will take effect at the April 5th meeting.
Survey Gives Tampa Bay Area Residents a Voice into the Practices and Performance of the Tampa Police Depart- ment
The Tampa Citizens Re- view Board (“CRB”) invites members of the Tampa Bay community to give construc- tive feedback on the practices and performance of the Tampa Police Department. The anonymous survey is designed to collect information on the public’s experiences with the Police Department. It was cre- ated by the CRB in cooperation with the Policing Project.
Survey Details:
• The survey can be found at
TampaCRBSurvey.org.
• Responses must be submit- ted between by 11:59 p. m. on Friday, March 16, 2018.
The Tampa CRB was formed in 2015 to help foster transparency, enhance com- munication, and ensure a rela- tionship of trust and respect between the Tampa Police De- partment and the community. The CRB consists of a volun- teer panel of citizens who con- duct independent reviews of completed police disciplinary
cases and evaluate issues of importance to the community and the Police Department. The CRB reports its findings to the City of Tampa Mayor and Tampa Chief of Police and may make recommendations for possible policy changes.
The Policing Project at New York University School of Law works with police departments and communities throughout the country to help bring the people’s voice to policing. The Policing Project has worked with boards and police depart- ments to administer similar successful surveys in New York, Los Angeles, and Cam- den, New Jersey. More infor- mation is available on its website, www.policingpro- ject.org.
At the end of the public input process, the Policing Project will prepare a report for the CRB summarizing all of the feedback received. The CRB is hopeful that the re- sponses to this survey will highlight issues of importance to its community and will help shape the CRB’s future focus and lead to recommendations for policy changes, where ap- propriate. All members of the Tampa Bay community are en- couraged to respond to the survey.
FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7-A