- Corpus Christi City Council return to their original chambers
- The are beginning to enforce rules of decorum that have gone unenforced for some time
- One of the rules limits what people can say during public comment
Corpus Christi City Council has returned to their original chambers in City Hall after months of renovations. With the return, council begins enforcing a rule that's been on the books for decades.
After receiving feedback from residents about not enforcing rules, city council is educating the public on ordinances that have been in place for decades, but not enforced by the council.
One of those rules states that during public comment, speakers may only speak about “city related subject matter.”
“In a way it’s good and some ways it’s bad and the city needs to do more things to get people’s input and actually do something about it,” Shirin Delsooz, a cyclist advocate who occasionally speaks at city council said.
“These rules are not meant to restrain a citizens first amendment rights. This is a limited public forum, it is not meant for non-city matters,” Corpus Christi city attorney Miles Risley said.
As someone familiar with addressing the city council, Delsooz said she sees this on both sides. She agrees, some public comments have gone on and on with irrelevant topics. However, she can also see how enforcing this rule can make people feel restricted.
“Speaking in front of people is already intimidating enough, so having these kinds of rules might make people nervous and shy from talking about what they want,” she said.
City Manager Peter Zanoni said this is in place to keep the meeting focused and not drawn out, talking about topics the city has no control over.
“As an example we let this one by but recently we spent two hours listening to the Spohn residency program. The city doesn’t run the hospital, we’re not in charge of a residency program…" he said. "Speaking on things like how the RNA and the Covid vaccine is made at the federal government level. We don’t make vaccines. So, that would be another inappropriate matter.”
Council members pushed back on this concern about censorship.
“With regards to the COVID vaccine our health department administers the COVID vaccine. So, anything regarding the COVID-19 vaccine should be considered city related…" Councilman Gil Hernandez said. "So, I would be very cautious with how you’re doing this because I don’t want to limit the speech of our citizens with addressing the city council.
When someone signs up to speak at public comment, staff members will be there to decide if it’s a city-related matter, but the mayor will have the final say.
Going forward, attendees will receive a card with the rules of decorum in case they aren't familiar.
Don Richards is an attorney for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. He said this is legaland practiced by many city councils. However, he said they can’t be too strict with it.
“They can put that on their requirements, but I don’t think anything stops a person from raising a subject matter they want to raise. Now, if it's related to the city jurisdiction then they should hear it…" he said. "I think in a liberal way because the act requires in a liberal interpretation, then they should listen to it.”
Other rules include who someone should address city council and the mayor. Another states that what is said should be statements of fact. Councilman Mike Pusley pressed importance on this to prevent people from making false accusations towards individual council members.
Mayor Paulette Guajardo reiterated public comment is not the only way to address city council members. You can email them, call them or even set up a meeting with them.
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