Charleroi Council enforces public comment policy

By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Audience members at Charleroi council’s meeting Wednesday were reminded of the public participation policy that will be strictly enforced.
Council amended procedures for public comment in December, adding qualifications to speak and time limits.
Up to that point, anyone who signed in had been permitted to speak during a meeting, but it was then changed to limit public comment to residents of the borough or tax-paying business owners.
At several meetings over the past few months, during various points of agenda or business meetings, some residents would interject council discussions on voting matters and have had to be reminded that they are not permitted to speak out of turn, specifically only in the designated portion of the meeting prior to any votes being taken.
Some residents during those meetings asked how they are supposed to know if they would like to speak, or have any questions, until they hear what council has to say on relevant matters or a vote is taken.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.