VBT Board works on policy in progress at work/study session

Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara said he was calling the May 10 work/study session to discuss a fair and inclusive Meeting Conduct Policy.
He said his goals were for the meetings to be efficiently run, the tone to be respectful, and to keep comments strictly on subject.
He said he has gone to training classes and spoken with township attorneys on the subject.
Supervisor McNamara said in discussions he serves as a “traffic cop,” but he has no desire to become a “cop cop.”
“This is the board’s meeting, not mine,” McNamara said.
He said the draft policy, which was presented at the meeting as the “fifth draft” was for a cumulative review and if it’s not fair, they’ll change it.
McNamara thanked his assistant Dan Selman, attorney Dave Greco, and Trustee Reggie Miller for working on the policy. He also thanked other board members.
He said almost everything conforms to Robert’s Rules of Order, but that is 1,500 pages long.
He said the public watching the meeting on cable TV doesn’t know the agenda so he wants to add “Executive Summary” to tell them what is going to happen.
He said the public usually watches the first half hour before switching the channel, so he wants to put the correspondence, announcements, and presentations all together at the beginning of the meeting.
He said the part where people had to let everyone know they were tape recording a meeting was removed because it’s illegal. Under the Open Meetings Act such recordings are legal.
Also, people may bring signs to meetings under the Open Meetings Act as long as they don’t interfere with the meeting.
McNamara said they looked at meeting rules from Novi, Canton, and Westland in putting together the revised policy.
Trustee Paul White said he was 100% against limiting the amount of time board members can talk.
“We work for the public. We should be able to explain the historical background,” he said. “Let them speak until they are done.”
“This came from Ann Arbor,” McNamara said.
“We don’t care where it’s from,” said Marcelle Henderson.
Trustee Sherry Frazier said larger communities have more items to address on an agenda.
“Is three minutes too long?” McNamara said of the time he proposed allotting to board members.
“You should not cut off a board member,” Trustee White said.
Trustee Kevin Martin said he was concerned about the limited amount of time for board members. He said if someone brought up something that needs to be addressed again, the board member would not be allowed to say what needs to be said.
Trustee Miller said some of the problems arise from board members monopolizing discussion. There shouldn’t be debates at meetings and speakers shouldn’t go off on tangents with an “Old Man River story,” she said.
“We need to make meetings run smoothly, but they don’t right now,” Miller said.
“It’s not working the way we’re doing it,” McNamara said.
“I’ll go along with it,” conceded Trustee Martin.
“I don’t think board members should be on the clock,” Miller added.
Treasurer Sharry Budd said three minutes is long enough.
Trustee White said, “Sharry is here all day and we want to find out what’s happening.”
Treasurer Budd said they don’t want to hear statements “ad nauseum.”
Clerk Leon Wright said they could have a four-hour board meeting with each board member speaking three minutes and then another three minutes all around for 42 minutes on one subject.
Trustee White said if he can’t speak out on what he needs to at a meeting, he will have to write for Thursday’s Independent.
McNamara said that’s all right with him.
McNamara kept referring to a paper in front of him and when he was asked what it was, he said it was a matrix that he devised with problems, how to fix them, and his personal notes.
John Delaney said it would be available under the Freedom of Information Act and McNamara said he would give it to the Independent and he did at the end of the meeting.
After discussing several items, McNamara said because of the First Amendment, you can say whatever you want, “unfortunately, you can do so…”
Trustee White pointed to Clerk Wright and said, “He and I went through … a recall and Budd supported the recall and now I say good morning to her and she walks right by me…”
“She never speaks to him,” agreed Trustee Frazier.
White said he can’t forget what happened with the recall and he will continue to try to be cordial to Budd, who won’t respond to his courtesies.
In discussing a proposal to ban use of cell phones at a meeting, Trustee Frazier said that at the last meeting Clerk Wright was texting quite a bit and she looked in the audience and saw someone was texting him.
“No, I wasn’t texting,” Clerk Wright responded.
After more discussion, White said, “We seem to forget we work for the residents. Let them speak out.”
A proposal to let the Sergeant at Arms, who would be a VBT police officer, make the call on policing the audience met with resistance.
Trustee Miller said it shouldn’t be put on a police officer.
McNamara said he is hard of hearing and can’t hear the audience when there is a disruption. He said he is still going to ask a police officer to do that.
“You shouldn’t have a police officer do that,” Miller insisted.
“Don’t attack me when you’re upset with the audience,” McNamara said to Miller. “You yell at me.”
Trustee Martin asked if it was McNamara’s intention to have a police officer at every meeting from now on and McNamara said it was.
When it was time for public comment at the end of the two-hour meeting, Delaney had several remarks including those on heated discussions. He said when someone pushes McNamara’s buttons, “he tilts and wigs out.”
He said “memories don’t dissolve between elections,” referring to White’s comments about Budd.
Delaney also quoted 34th District Court Judge Brian Oakley as saying that public safety officers cannot stifle a resident in a meeting without the direction of the chairperson.
McNamara said the policy changes were a project in motion, as he adjourned the meeting.