Prolonged public comments about the conditions at the Polk County sheriff’s Animal Services facility have prompted the Polk County commissioners to limit input from the public to only 15 speakers per meeting.
For years, the commission has limited the time slots for speakers to say their piece to three minutes each. And there are three separate times each meeting for comments. The restriction applies to the last opportunity, which is referred to as general public comments. It does not apply to public testimony at hearings nor comments about agenda items.
Ironically, the public did not have an opportunity to provide input on the new limit because the speaker-limit resolution was placed on the board’s consent agenda − a package of decisions passed by a single, unanimous vote, without public input and designed to expedite meetings…