One South Carolina county is considering restricting how often the public gets to speak

As a reporter, I have covered more than my fair share of city commission, planning/zoning board, school board and township council meetings in multiple states.

I’ve seen commissions complete their meetings in under 10 minutes thanks to short agendas and a lack of public comment, and I’ve seen meetings drag on into the wee hours when I would normally be on my way to bed.

Yes, public meetings aren’t all roses and sunshine.

But it still surprised me when I learned about a proposed ordinance on Horry County Council’s agenda for Tuesday night’s meeting that would limit how often members of the public could speak during the regular comment period of each meeting.

Reporter J. Dale Shoemaker noted that the ordinance “appears to restrict how often members of the public are allowed to speak at meetings.”

Currently, 30 minutes is reserved at the start of each meeting to allow members of the public to speak on any topic.

Speakers notify the council clerk ahead of time and have five minutes to speak at the podium.

The new ordinance would change the rules, limiting members of the public from addressing the council more than once every 60 days during those 30-minute open comment periods.

“As a matter of course, no person will be allowed to address council during public comment more than once within any 60 day period,” the ordinance reads.

While residents could still speak during the public comment period on a specific ordinance, they would be limited from voicing their concerns during the open session.

The move has already met with opposition from regulars like Katrina Morrison, a Little River resident who told our reporter that she’s spoken during the public comment period eight times in the past six months.

Council Chairman Johnny Gardner, who introduced the ordinance, has called the open comment period, “my favorite part of the night, we get to hear from Horry County citizens on Horry County subjects.”

So why would he or any member of council want to limit how often they hear from members of the public?

The motivation is unclear, but the result is not.

Limiting how often residents can speak to their elected officials stymies public discourse and goes against the cherished ideal of President Abraham Lincoln of a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

The council should think carefully before taking this drastic step.

You serve the public and you should be encouraging your constituents to speak up, not finding ways to keep them quiet.