Dear Editor,

You may have read the back and forth on social media when it comes to the City of Liberty policy on public input at council meetings. The policy only allows citizens of the city to speak during public input, and they must sign up through the clerk’s office hours before. Let me weigh in on it.

First, let’s start with the policy that is on the books.

Sec. 2-42. – Appearance of citizens: Any citizen of the city shall be entitled to an appearance before the mayor and council at any regular meeting concerning any city matter. Persons desiring to speak must notify the clerk on the topic which they want to speak no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Friday preceding the council meeting.

I have been to scores of Liberty City Council meetings as well as others like the county council and school board.

This ordinance, with wording going back to the 1970’s, is antiquated and needs a rewrite by the city council.

First, public input should not be limited to city residents only. Plenty of people own businesses, visit our city or pay city taxes, but live beyond the city limits. The council needs to hear what they have to say, as they are part of the city’s formula for success.

Second, people are busy with work, kids, life and they should also be given the opportunity to sign up to speak at the meeting, just before it starts like at school board or county council meetings.

I think the policy should look something like this:

Public Input: The Liberty City Council will hold public input at the start of their regular monthly meeting. Persons wanting to address the council can sign up by contacting the council clerk beforehand or by filing out a public input card prior to the start of the meeting. Speakers are limited to 3 minutes each. Public input is limited to 30 minutes in total (10 speakers), but could be extended at the discretion of the council.

I hope the city council will consider this change.

Andrea Wagner

Liberty, SC