Taking away our public comment rights was perpetrated by developer toadies bullies and accomplices.
It happened in January 2021, another unctuous uncouth unilateral action by imperious then-Chair JEREMIAH RAY BLOCKER, who allegedly told a Republican group that "Democrats were getting out of hand," (After 1/6 riots, I called DJT a fascist, which is First Amendment protected activity). Fun fact: BLOCKER was booted out of office in 2022 by Krista Keating-Joseph, now BoCC Chair. BLOCKER now seeks to become the lawyer for our mismanaged Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County; his website biography is misleading, falsely stating that he was BoCC Chair from 2018-2022.
After four years of developer cat's paws' uncouth anti-speech rules, we've suffered enough disrespect. St. Johns County Commission is now putting people first. Thank you, Chair Krista Joseph Another day, another victory over oppression and one-party rule here in St. Johns County. From Jacksonville Today/WJCT:
St. Johns County eases public comment at meetings
When the St. Johns County Commission meets Tuesday, it will be the first meeting after some changes to the board’s public comment policy.
Instead of having to wait until around noon, people who want to speak directly to the Board of County Commissioners will now have an opportunity to do so at 9 a.m. — right at the start of the board’s meetings.
This is how the board used to offer the public an time to speak, but, four years ago, the board moved the public comment time to around 11:30 a.m.
The decision came from County Commissioner Krista Joseph who, following a vote by the newly formed board earlier this month, now serves as the board’s chair.
“It’s been four years since residents could give their public comments early and then get on with their day,” Joseph said in a news release. “I’m so pleased to reinstate the longstanding tradition of putting residents’ comments first before discussing agenda items. I advise residents to arrive by 9 a.m. to give their comments.”
The public comment period that will now open County Commission meetings is specifically for items that are not on the board’s agenda for the day. People who want to comment on specific items that the board takes up will have to wait until that item is discussed.
Other changes that will go into effect Dec. 3 include the removal of public safety and legislative updates that county staff have typically delivered at the beginning of meetings.
Joseph says this move will help to streamline meetings and change the county’s focus to communicating directly with residents via press releases and social media.
Commissioners’ meetings “can last eight hours or longer, and the reason for eliminating these updates from the agenda is to get to business faster,” Joseph said. “Efficiency is key. More people will see those updates if our Office of Public Affairs handles them rather than having them presented at meetings. And then we have more time for the business at hand.”
Items on the County Commission’s agenda for Dec. 3 include planning how to spend $51 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and a discussion surrounding the county’s top priority transportation projects.
The Board of County Commissioners meets at 9 a.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month in the County Auditorium at 500 San Sebastian View. Meetings are also broadcast live online on the county’s website.
The full agenda for the Dec. 3 meeting also is available on the county’s website.
1 comment:
It's becoming less democratic everywhere in Florida which can be expected when you have right wing government all of who are partisan whether they'll admit it or not... it's obvious. You'll notice criminal penalties also increase when the right wing one party state has a majority in state houses and senate. That's in place of economic policy that would bring the greatest amount of good for the most people and help people. The working classes suffer the most from their insane politics.
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