The Portage City Council has debated a proposed resolution on public comment at public meetings for months. Now the Ordinance Committee has given up on revisions and is sending the original version back to the council for a vote.
“We haven’t had a real issue with somebody wanting to have a filibuster at the podium,” said council President Victoria Vasquez, R-3rd.
“I think our residents just need to know that they have an opportunity to have public comment,” she said, so she urged leaving the appropriate length for public comment to whoever chairs the meeting.
“It feels like it’s more of a code of conduct than an actual resolution,” Vasquez said.
“We already generally limit it to two minutes,” said Councilman Collin Czilli, D-5th. “We’re weirdly overthinking it.”
“The bill of rights is basically just like a code of conduct,” Councilman Ferdinand Alvarez, D-At-large, said. He wanted people to understand they wouldn’t be dragged out or arrested just for voicing their opinion.
City attorney Dan Bartnicki said he was trying to create a simple bill of rights for citizens regarding comments at public meetings.
“I just think we’re coming up with a solution to a problem that doesn’t currently exist,” Czilli said.
The council has revamped its agenda to move public comment from the end of the meeting to near the beginning, before any official action. “Anybody who wants to speak can speak before any agenda item,” Czilli said.
“We do not need four pages to talk about our policies on public comment,” Czilli said.
The Ordinance Committee voted Tuesday to put the original resolution back on the council’s agenda for an upcoming meeting. If the council doesn’t pass it, nothing changes, Alvarez said.
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The committee also discussed regulating e-bikes in the city. Bartnicki said a council member approached him to work on the ordinance.
There are clearly recognized classes of e-bikes depending on engine size and maximum speed. Bartnicki said the regulations fit neatly within an ordinance governing bicycles generally.
“Just like a pedal bike, you have to obey traffic laws,” he said.
E-bikes are different, though. “These e-bikes are faster, and you can ride them faster for longer periods because you’re not pedaling, and you can weave in and out of traffic,” Bartnicki said.
The fastest e-bikes would be forbidden on sidewalks.
The ordinance would also add age requirements, stipulating riders must be at least 15 to ride a class 3 e-bike. “Those are faster than golf carts,” he said. Helmets would be required, too.
The ordinance gives police the ability to enforce the requirements, too.
Vasquez said a resident wanted to know if a permit would be required. Bartnicki advised against it. That would mean setting fees and extra work for the clerk-treasurer’s office.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.