Annapolis Capital Punishment

In a previous post, CP discussed the upcoming July 21 "work session" on the sidewalk issue which appears to be a time for council members to meet and discuss legislation. However, it is not clear whether or not the public, which may attend, can ask questions or provide input or testimony. CP is trying to get to the bottom of this.

It began when Alderman Arnett sent out a note to constituents:

"Residents, On Monday 21 July there will be two important meetings in Council Chambers.At 5 PM there will be a full Council Workshop taking up the sidewalk issue. I have asked that the City Attorney address the issue of liability for sidewalks and the Director of Public Works to discuss the number of sidewalks in disrepair and the approximate time and dollar cost to fix those walks. The Council will then discuss the legislation passed last October and consider any amendments to that legislation. The public may attend and, in my view, offer input."

CP wrote back, asking Ross to clarify the public input part.

Ross replied:

"Paul
The Mayor takes the position that residents can attend but not participate in workshops. There are no such rules and I disagree with that approach. I will ask for time for input from those who attend. Ross"

I then saw the public notice in the local newspaper (yeah--that one) abd so I wrote to the city attorney and the city employee who signs such notices:

Dear Mr. Spencer and Mr. Zirkle:

I am inquiring on behalf of my news blog Annapolis Capital Punishment. At
least one alderman has publicly claimed me that there is no substance to the
mayor's insistence that so-called "work sessions" of the city council are
strictly for discussion among members and not the general public. What can
you tell me about this? The recent public notices about tonight's work
session say that public input is not allowed because it is a "work session".
Please provide me with any information about city code or policy that can
help and the general public understand the legal and legislative background.


Thank you for your consideration.


Paul Foer
Publisher, www.AnnapolisCapitalPunishment.blogspot.com

I copied the email to the mayor and alderman and to my amazement, the mayor wrote back quickly, which of course tells me that this is sensitive enough that the city attorney and the city official who submits public notices would not touch it:

The Mayor has made no such statements. Work sessions are set for Council to hear from staff on a specific issue. Dialogue among staff and elected leaders is expected. When time allows, questions from public are allowed. Hopefully the Aldermen and Alderwomen have met with their constituents and are bringing the questions and concerns of the people they represent to the work session discussion.

Ellen Moyer
Mayor

Ellen O. Moyer, Mayor
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Office: (410)263-7997
Fax: (410)216-9284

This e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail in error, please notify me immediately at the above e-mail address or telephone number and permanently delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and any printout thereof.

(CP NOTE: You can disregard that poppycock at the end of the email. I fully identified myself as a reporter intending to publish about this. It goes out with every email from city computers. I publish herewith just to...well whatever...)

Okay. So the mayor has made no such statement. ??? I wrote back:

Dear Mayor Moyer:

Thank you for your response. I believe the public notice that has appeared in The Capital and is signed by Mr. Seth Zirkle as Legislative and Policy Analyst in the Office of Law states that the public may attend but not ask questions or make statements. Please provide a copy of the text or correct me if I am wrong.

However, this is what Alderman Arnett sent out to constituents in advance of the meeting:

"On Monday 21 July there will be two important meetings in Council Chambers. At 5 PM there will be a full Council Workshop taking up the sidewalk issue. I have asked that the City Attorney address the issue of liability for sidewalks and the Director of Public Works to discuss the number of sidewalks in disrepair and the approximate time and dollar cost to fix those walks. The Council will then discuss the legislation passed last October and consider any amendments to that legislation. The public may attend and, in my view, offer input."

When I asked Alderman Arnett to clarify what he meant by "in my view", this is what he wrote:

"The Mayor takes the position that residents can attend but not participate in workshops. There are no such rules and I disagree with that approach. I will ask for time for input from those who attend. Ross"


In your reply to me, you write that "When time allows, questions from public are allowed." I would like to know who makes the determination as to whether there is sufficient time for public input? And when that is determined, how much time is allowed? I am simply asking whether this is set in code, or by legislation or whether it is just an arbitrary policy?

As you know, I am an ardent advocate of walking and a strong supporter of public maintenance of public sidewalks and I have repeatedly recognized you for your strong leadership in this area as well. I hope that together we can find an equitable way to approach the sidewalk issue and ensure they will be maintained for general public use.

Thank you

Paul Foer, Annapolis Capital Punishment


I have not received a response from the mayor yet, but Alderman Fred Paone did write back:

I got the same double talk when I inquired at the beginning of the Council mtg. last night. If the Mayor allows any type of meaningful public participation, it will be the first time in my 6 mos. on the Council that this has happened.
Fred


HERE IS THE TEXT OF THE PUBLIC NOTICE:

"NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION/
Notice is hereby given that the Annapolis City Council will hold a work session on Monday, 21 July 2008, at 5:00 p.m., in City Council Chambers, 160 Duke of Gloucester Street, for a discussion on the City's Sidewalk Fee and Sidewalk Fund. The public may attend, observe, and listen to the presentations and discussion, but may not ask questions, since this is a work session for the Council members. / Seth B. Zirkle/Legislative and Policy Analyst /sbzirkle@annapolis.gov"

So, Mayor Moyer, both a Republican and a Democratic Alderman have expressed their concerns about this. What say ye? Whose policy is this?