MSD Proposes New Public Comment Process for Board Meetings

Metropolitan Sewer District Board Chair Arnold Celentano has proposed a new process for public comments at MSD Meetings. WFPL’s Dalton Main reports.The process has been submitted to a committee, which will send a recommendation to the full board for approval.The proposed process would allow up to five people three minutes each to speak, if they sign up at least 15 minutes before the meeting.But executive director Bud Schardein says public comments would still come with some restrictions.“It’s not appropriate for someone to get up at a public meeting and talk about a personnel issue or a point of litigation, something that could be in court or could a affect a person’s employment record that sort of thing," Schardein says "but they’re certainly free to talk about MSD’s policies and procedures and any of the projects we’re conducting.”The proposal comes after a recent meeting included public outbursts and criticism of the board’s public speaking process.“Several people, not many," he says "complained that they thought the process of speaking at an MSD meeting as a citizen was, I think one of the words used was cumbersome, when in fact in the nine years I’ve been executive director we’ve only had 6 individual requests to speak.”