Edward Vos of Jamestown said he opposes the county legislature modifying its rules to only allow the general public to speak on topics relevant to the county.

MAYVILLE – At the conclusion of every Chautauqua County Legislature meeting, the public is given an opportunity to speak on any subject they like. Some residents have complained about the cost of electricity. Others have criticized state or federal officials.

Now county officials are looking to eliminate certain topics they can talk about.

The Chautauqua County Legislature has two opportunities at each meeting for the public to speak. At the beginning of the meeting, members of the public may comment on any subject relating to any local law, resolution or motion appearing on the agenda.

At the end of the meeting members of the public may comment on any subject without restrictions.

Individuals are given three minutes to speak, while individuals representing a group may speak for five minutes.

In January, county lawmakers had a resolution before them to amend the rules and regulations of the legislature, for the second privilege of the floor, which would only allow members of the public to address the legislature on items they had some authority over.

At the beginning of the meeting in January, Edward Vos of Jamestown spoke out against the change.

“Every one of you is being paid a stipend to be a legislator, which means you’re being paid to listen to me and your constituents. We pay you to listen to our issues, not come to meetings with rules which limit our speech,” he said.

John Jablonski of Lakewood also spoke out in opposition.

“You are our local elected leaders. Despite the fact that many concerns brought before you may not seem relevant to you, allowing your constituents to speak for a mere three minutes is not too much to endure as part of your jobs as legislators,” he said.

Marcia Westling Johnson, county Democratic Party chairperson, said she believes the proposed change would set a dangerous precedent.

“Who will decide what is considered relevant to local government. Will individuals who raise issues that those in power disagree with still be allowed to speak? We are already witnessing the erosion of democratic norms at the national level, where those who dissent are labeled as domestic terrorists,” she said.

LEGISLATURE HAS HISTORY OF ADDRESSING ON NON-COUNTY TOPICS

Although the proposal calls for the public to not speak on topics that the county government has no authority over, the county legislature has many times taken a stance on state or national issues.

In the last few years the county legislature has passed motions on denouncing racism, called on the state to support natural gas, expressed support for Job Corps, opposed certain state restrictions on guns, and expressed support for local journalism. None of those motions had any financial or legal implications.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the county legislature passed a motion saying it was opposed to mandated vaccines for healthcare workers, and passed another motion calling on state and federal leaders to “follow the Constitution.” Those motions appeared to have been at least partially motivated by members of the general public who would speak at the end of each monthly meeting, regarding concerns they had with COVID-19 regulations and restrictions.

While some individual legislators, Bob Scudder of Fredonia, in particular, are generally opposed to passing motions, the legislature has not banned itself from proposing or passing motions in the future.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO BE REVIEWED FURTHER

Before voting, Legislator Tom Nelson, D-Jamestown, expressed opposition to the change.

“This resolution narrows speech by limiting comments to matters the legislature itself deems within its authority. This invites content-based and viewpoint-based exclusion. How are the residents to know what is within our authority? They should not need to be a legal expert in state law or the county charter to speak to their own legislature,” he said.

Legislator Bob Bankoski, D-Jamestown, said at first he was in support of the changes, but after listening to residents’ concerns, he proposed sending the changes back to committee for further discussion.

The motion to send the changes back to committee for further evaluation was approved by a 10-8 vote. Voting against the motion to have the proposed changes further reviewed were legislators Anthony Dalton, R-Frewsburg; Vince DeJoy, D-Jamestown; Jamie Gustafson, R-Lakewood; Tom Harmon, R-Silver Creek; Travis Heiser, R-Clymer; John Penhollow, R-Stockton; Lisa Vanstrom, R-West Ellicott; and Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery.