Some public comments moved to early in Brevard County Commission meetings as compromise

In a vote that came after testy interactions among some board members, the Brevard County Commission voted to restore some public comments early in its meetings.

But the action taken Tuesday night was perceived as not being as friendly to public access as Commissioner Tom Goodson initially proposed .

In what may have been a compromise to get enough votes for approval, the County Commission voted 4-1 in favor of putting 15 minutes of general public comment near the beginning of commission meetings, just after the consent agenda items are finished. This would allow the first five speakers who sign up to comment at that time, taking into account the commission's time limit of three minutes apiece for speakers. Commissioner John Tobia voted no on the proposal.

The commission's action affects only general public comment that is not related to an item of business on the meeting agenda. For items that are on the meeting agenda, members of the public can comment on any item at the time the item comes up for discussion — and can speak on multiple agenda items, as some members of the public do.

Commissioner's proposal: Restore County Commission public comment to near beginning of meetings

Goodson originally wanted a 30-minute early general public comment period — enough time for 10 speakers ― with any overflow of speakers going to the second public comment period at the end of the meeting.

Some other commissioners balked at that proposal, with Commissioner Rob Feltner suggesting 15 minutes as a compromise, with the rest going to the late public comment period.

Goodson said he wanted to give members of the public an opportunity to address issues that concern them in a way such that they "wouldn't have to sit here all night and wait" for the public comment period.

On Tuesday, for example, the general public comment period did not begin until 8:34 p.m., more than 3½ hours after the meeting began.

Tobia questioned why Goodson was changing his mind on a vote taken in March 2023 to eliminate the early general public comment period, which put all public comment on non-agenda items at the end of the meeting.

Goodson said he was new on the commission at the time, and made a mistake with that vote, not realizing how important the general public comment time was to some residents.

Goodson then told Tobia: "If you've got the votes to kill" Goodson's proposal, "so be it. But I'm just trying to help these people be able to talk. Government is by the people and for the people, OK. We're elected to serve the people. We're not elected to say: 'You can't talk.' "

Goodson told other commissioners that, if his motion to move general public comment earlier in the meeting died, it will be "because of you people not allowing the public to talk."

Tobia said he wasn't trying to restrict people from speaking, and just wants to have the public comment at an appropriate time period.

Tobia said putting public comment near the beginning of the meetings would cost money for residents at the meetings who bring attorneys with them to weigh in on items actually on the agenda. Tobia said these people would be paying their attorneys hundreds of dollars an hour to sit there, waiting for general public comments to end.

Under the measure commissioners approved, people would not be able to speak during the general public comment period on items that are on the agenda; would not be able to speak during both general public comment periods; and would not be able to "politic" during their speaking time.

County Commission Vice Chair Rita Pritchett proposed the latter caveat, describing it is as creating a "campaign-free zone," thus not allowing speakers running for office to campaign while speaking or say they are running for office during their public comment.

Brevard County Attorney Morris Richardson said that type of restriction has been held to be legal in a federal court case involving a government body in Florida.

If Goodson's original proposal was approved, it would reinstate the method that general public comment was received by the County Commission from December 2014 to March 2023.

After the vote on the public comment issue, Tobia made a motion following up on a suggestion at an April meeting by Goodson to create a mechanism for more public interaction with commissioners. Tobia proposed that Goodson be responsible for scheduling and running special meetings with the public in July and October to discuss citizen concerns, then report back his findings to the other four commissioners during a subsequent regular County Commission meeting.

"I think that's so sweet of you, John," Goodson replied, tongue-in-cheek.

At that point, County Commission Chair Jason Steele had heard enough, ruling Tobia's motion out of order, and moved on to the next item of business.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com , on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Some public comments moved to early in Brevard County Commission meetings as compromise