The Cape Coral Council plans to update its rules to avoid disruptive situations, such as removing members of the public from meetings.
The changes outline more specific penalties for residents who are removed and make a distinction between those who were arrested as a result or simply escorted from council chambers.
“I think a lot of them were brought about because of the incidents that we’ve had in chambers and it just kind of clarified what we can do and what was expected and what was expected of citizens should there be an incident,” Tom Hayden said. “So I think just clarifying the procedures helps everyone out.”
Cape Coral Councilmember Robert Welsh concurs.
He said recent incidents clarified that changes are needed to update an outdated policy.
“Residents need to understand that we are there to conduct business,” Welsh said. “And without rules, we are not really conducting a business meeting, it’s more of a town hall forum. And there is a time and place for that, so this lays out to anybody exactly what happens if you misbehave at a meeting.”