“Democracy is messy,” stated Councilwoman Rachel Leon during discussion on a resolution to amend the rules of council, during its April 2 meeting.

Presented by Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith, the resolution states only city residents and taxpayers have the right to speak during public comments.

It is a direct response to the events March 5, when council abruptly ended after five hours of public comments about the situation in Gaza, as well as the meetings pertaining to the Walnut Street Garage project.

Both issues have been at the root of 2024 council meetings lasting upward of five hours. Concerns over city business being properly dealt with have grown to the point where public comments was moved to the end of the March 19 agenda.

Addressing her resolution, Crampsie Smith explained she had consulted with Council Solicitor Stephanie Steward, and believes changes need to be made to ensure city business is not disrupted.

She explained, “Certain city business is very time sensitive and excessive public comment, such as the five hours that we had March 5, can result in city operations being delayed due to being precluded from attending to the agenda items.”

Raising Council Rule 3C, which states, “Public comments is for problems and issues of relevance to the operation of city government,” Crampsie Smith cited examples of cities where rules of this nature exist, such as the City of Allentown, which allows for only its citizens to address council.

Clarifying issues raised during the evening, Solicitor Steward stated, “This resolution does not impose a requirement that a person, a speaker, identify themselves other than as a resident or a taxpayer. There’s of course no requirement that you give your address.”

She spoke of an honor system, in terms of abiding with the residency/taxpayer requirement, and stated, “Any rule that would have a chilling effect on the freedom of speech is illegal.”

Reminding everyone of her deep beliefs as a veteran, Leon spoke of her strong views on democracy, saying, “I don’t want to tread on free speech.”

She made the point, “These are flashpoints that happened.”

Leon suggested tabling the resolution would permit other ideas to be considered, such as moving public comments to the end of the agenda, and limiting the time allotted to three minutes per speaker.

The resolution was tabled for further consideration.