Liberal Ruthie Schlabach moves to shut down public comment

By John Labriola - Barely a week into her term as chair of the Citrus County Commission, the famously thin-skinned Ruthie Schlabach is pushing to limit public participation at commission meetings.

Schlabach, who was selected by her colleagues as board chair last week,  is sponsoring an item at this Tuesday's commission meeting to eliminate the time-honored tradition of allowing the public to speak about any topic at the beginning of each commission meeting following the pledge of allegiance and the approval of the board's consent agenda. 

In a poorly worded memo included in Tuesday's agenda package, Schlabach claims her proposal would "ensure we are conducting our meetings the most efficient and transparent manner as is possible." 

If Schlabach's proposal is adopted, residents will have to wait until the end of a commission meeting to address the board on any non-agenda item, forcing them to sit through hours of commission discussion on items totally unrelated to their concerns. To make matters even worse, residents who have the patience to sit through a four-hour meeting would still only be allowed to address matters "under the jurisdiction of the Board." Since the memo doesn't define this phrase, Schlabach would essentially be able to censor any comments she decides are not "under the jurisdiction of the Board." 

Schlabach's proposal represents a sharp departure from established commission procedure. All her predecessors as chair allowed the public wide latitude to address any topic, not only items on the commission's agenda or under its so-called "jurisdiction." This allowed residents to address commissioners and the public on a wide range of issues which may be of concern to Citrus County residents but which may not technically be under the commission's "jurisdiction." Such issues have included the Florida Department of Transportation's recent plan to extend Florida's Turnpike through Citrus County, which sparked a wave of public comment at commission meetings and eventually convinced commissioners to pass a symbolic resolution urging FDOT to scrap the plan, which it eventually did under pressure. 

It's no surprise that Schlabach would try to limit public comment in her first major move as board chairwoman. Schlabach is known for not taking criticism well, especially comments questioning her intelligence (which she is particularly sensitive about). 

At a meeting in July, Schlabach claimed she was suffering from "PTSD" because of the months of public comment objecting to her repeated votes in support of taxpayer-funded LGBT propaganda displays in Citrus County libraries. In a moment of frustration, Schlabach suggested she may not run for reelection "because the things that are said to me are just ridiculous" and she complained about her salary, saying: "This is not the best-paying job I've ever had!" (See video HERE.)

Commissioners, who meet twice a month, earn about $70,000 a year – nearly triple the county's $25,559 median income. In addition to their taxpayer-funded salaries, commissioners enjoy generous benefits including health, dental, vision, long-term disability and life insurance, extensive paid vacation and sick leave, and membership in the coveted Florida Retirement System pension plan. 

Schlabach obviously sees her constituents as mere "peasants" who don't pay her enough for her to have to put up with all their "ridiculous" comments at commission meetings. But her proposal to shut down public comment can only take effect if at least two of her commission colleagues agree to go along. 

So if you believe in a democracy of the people, not the pampered politicians, be sure to show up and speak out at the Nov. 29 commission meeting at the Citrus County Courthouse, 110 N Apopka Ave., Inverness FL 34450. The meeting begins at 1 p.m., and residents can speak during the "Open to the Public" portion at the beginning of the meeting. This could be your last chance to do so, so take advantage of the opportunity before it goes away!

If you are unable to attend the meeting, you can contact each commissioner by cutting and pasting the email addresses below:

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