Public participation vote this Tuesday

By John Labriola - This Tuesday may be the public's last chance to defend their right to be heard at county commission meetings on the topics they care about.

The Citrus County Commission will meet at 1 p.m. on Dec. 10 to vote on Commissioner Jeff Kinnard's ordinance to eliminate the Open to the Public period at the beginning of meetings. The meeting will take place at the Citrus County Courthouse, 110 N. Apopka Ave., Inverness, FL 34450.

Kinnard, who was just reelected to a third term, is sponsoring the item because he believes the public should be forced to wait until an agenda item comes up to speak about it, or until the end of the meeting to discuss non-agenda items. Prior to the recent election, Kinnard supported leaving public comment as it is, but he did an about-face once the elections were over. Former Commissioner Ruthie Schlabach was defeated this year after unsuccessfully making the same unpopular proposal two years ago, which may explain why Kinnard waited until after the election to champion the radical move.

The vast majority of county commissions in Florida allow public comment at the beginning of their meetings, and Citrus County has been doing so for decades. 

If you are unable to attend the meeting, email the commissioners below:

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

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