Kinnard looks to shut down public comment

By John Labriola - Two years ago, former Citrus County Commissioner Ruthie Schlabach, who had just been chosen by her colleagues as commission chairwoman, proposed eliminating the Open to the Public period at the beginning of county commission meetings. 

Her move to silence the public, who often voiced their opposition to her liberal agenda, generated a flood of angry protests from residents. When her proposal came up at a November 2022 commission meeting, many residents loudly denounced the idea, and she was forced to withdraw it under withering criticism. 

At the time, Commissioner Jeff Kinnard was among those who opposed the move.

"The Open to the Public at the start of the meeting is an opportunity for people to run out on a lunch break, come in, speak their piece and get out of here,” he had said. “I think we might be trying to fix a problem that does not necessarily exist...I do think it's an important time to keep on the agenda." (See video HERE.)

Now safely reelected to a third term, Kinnard has done a complete about-face and wants the public comment period eliminated. 

"I don't feel like the Open to the Public at the beginning of the meeting is necessary,” he now says, claiming it causes paid county staff to have to wait in the commission chamber for their item to come up, although they get paid either way. (See video of his latest comments HERE.)

Kinnard’s comments came toward the end of Tuesday’s commission meeting, after most of the public had already left. Looking out onto the nearly empty chamber, he said he was OK with keeping the Open to the Public at the end of the meeting, when nobody is left in the room. 

Kinnard said the public has other ways to reach commissioners, such as through email, but some commissioners are notorious for ignoring their emails. He said the public also would still have an opportunity to speak once a motion and a second was made on any agenda item. 

Newly elected Commissioner Janet Barek said she disagreed with eliminating the first Open to the Public, but Commissioners Holly Davis and Rebecca Bays both said they liked the idea. 

Commissioner Diana Finegan then offered a compromise of allowing the public to speak on any item before a motion and a second are made, which commissioners agreed would be part of the ordinance the commission considers on Dec. 10. 

But a resident pointed out that many citizens come to speak about an agenda item during the first Open to the Public because they can’t wait until the item comes up. He added that the majority of residents use the first public comment period to address items that are not on the agenda at all, and if Kinnard’s change is adopted, they now would have to wait until the end of the meeting when the room is empty to address commissioners, who may choose to ignore them. 

He gave the example of the Florida Department of Transportation's plan a few years ago to extend Florida's Turnpike through Citrus County. That sparked a wave of public comment against the idea at commission meetings and eventually convinced commissioners to pass a resolution urging FDOT to scrap the plan, which it ultimately did under pressure. He also noted that Schlabach was defeated in her bid for reelection this year largely because she was seen as unresponsive, as demonstrated by her desire to limit public participation at commission meetings.

The Citrus Crusader believes this latest attempt at eliminating Citrus County’s time-honored tradition of allowing the public to speak at the beginning of commission meetings – which is something most city and county commissions offer – is wrong. If commissioners don’t want to hear from the public, they can resign their job, for which they’re paid over $75,000 a year along with generous benefits. 

If you agree that the Open to the Public period should remain at the beginning of meetings, let the commissioners know that now, and then plan on coming to the Dec. 10 commission meeting to speak out against Kinnard’s proposal. But email them now at their email addresses below:

Holly Davis <holly.davis@citrusbocc.com>, Jeff Kinnard <jeff.kinnard@citrusbocc.com>, Rebecca Bays <rebecca.bays@citrusbocc.com>, Diana Finegan <diana.finegan@citrusbocc.com>, Janet Barek <janet.barek@citrusbocc.com>