Tallahassee Inspector General Report Calls for Decency and Enforcement Tools – Tallahassee Reports

The Tallahassee Inspector General’s Office recently released a report recommending that the Tallahassee City Commission take action to establish standards of decency for the city’s public gatherings.

The report also recommended that the policy include enforcement logs.

The report detailed a “building security” audit which found disruptive and sometimes violent incidents at public gatherings and local government events, which have become more common recently across the country.

The report gave a few examples of such incidents, one in New York City where a group of citizens repeatedly declared their opposition to new vaccine mandates at a city commission meeting. Another interruption during a city meeting in Huntsville, Alabama resulted in the arrest of a person who refused to comply with law enforcement orders.

The Inspector General’s report further states that the City of Tallahassee does not have up-to-date guidelines on how to enforce standards of conduct.

In recent years, many communities have chosen to develop strategies for dealing with recalcitrant civilians who want to be heard.

In 2019 Tampa introduced a new policy preventing personal attacks on city officials or other members of the public. Commissioner Harry Cohen commented on the changes, according to an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. “We want to remain respectful and objective. It should be a professional environment, ”said Cohen.

Other examples of cities that have implemented these guidelines include the City of West Palm Beach, Miami City, and the City of Port St. Lucie. All policies prohibit profanity and aggressive or threatening behavior and allow the presiding officer to remove individuals from the room if necessary.

The recommendations call for an amendment to City Commission Policy No. 108, which includes a “pledge of courtesy for public speakers, encouraging participants to be respectful, comment directly on problems, avoid personal attacks”, or a new code of conduct to develop.

The report identifies examples of behaviors and activities that are generally considered disruptive and should be included in the policy. These examples include:

• Twitter, verbal outbursts or other interruptions.
• Shouting, yelling, yelling, threatening, or any other form of verbal abuse.
• Sound generators, air horns, whistles or similar objects that produce noise.
• Signs, posters, banners or objects that impair the visual rights of others.
• Approaching the podium to distribute materials to the board members rather than making those items available to the note taker for proper distribution and review.
• Refusal to give up the podium or microphone, or the next speaker’s ability to make public comments.
• Cell phones ringing or phone calls in public gatherings.

The post Tallahassee Inspector General Report Calls for Decency and Enforcement Tools – Tallahassee Reports first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/tallahassee-inspector-general-report-calls-for-decency-and-enforcement-tools-tallahassee-reports/