Is Free Speech Being Diminished in Saline County?

The first month of the new term of the Saline County Quorum Court is in the books, and after the January 6 Committee meeting, I still had questions. You’ll recall that my first article discussed my opposition to three items in the Organizational Ordinance that set forth the rules and procedures for each meeting. These items included: 1) moving the meetings from 6:30 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. the first and third Mondays of each month; 2) restricting public comment exclusively to agenda items; and 3) requiring JPs to send all ordinances and resolutions to the County Judge in advance, seemingly for his prior approval, before they are then sent to each committee for consideration. Another JP advised that the public comment change was due to wanting to be “more in line with state law.” Because I was curious what this state law actually said, I asked our county attorney. I was quoted Arkansas Code 14-14-109, which states, in part:

(a)(1) – “All meetings of a county government governing body, board, committee, or any other entity created by, or subordinate to, a county government shall be open to the public….”

(b) – “In any meeting required to be open to the public, the county quorum court, committee, board, or other entity shall adopt rules for conducting the meeting which afford citizens a reasonable opportunity to participate prior to the final decision.”

One could argue, I suppose, that with the language, “prior to the final decision,” the other JPs could make the case that public comment could be limited to agenda items. But why limit public comment to JUST agenda items? Do we no longer have the First Amendment? I believe that the public should be able to come before the full Quorum Court to voice their concerns about any county issue, whether on the agenda or not. Imagine this: you take off work early (remember, we just moved up the meeting time), and skip dinner to attend a Quorum Court meeting because you want to bring the JPs attention to a serious safety problem on your county road. Because the JPs were unaware of the issue, it obviously isn’t on the agenda. Under these newly adopted rules, you won’t be able to speak on that issue. It’s not right or fair, in my opinion. And before you say that individual could have sent an email, we all know that emails are often not taken as seriously as an in-person presentation at a public meeting. Contrast this with the 2023 Organizational Ordinance regarding public comment:

“Any individual may be recognized by the presiding officer for comment; however, an individual shall not have more than three (3) minutes to speak on any one issue.”

On ANY one issue. I agree with the 3-minute time limit; this is very standard for any public meeting, but our constituents need to be able to speak on any topic, not just an item on the agenda.

Apple CEO Tim Cook had this to say about the freedom of speech: “Free speech isn’t just about speaking. It is also about listening….” It is the job of every Justice of the Peace to listen to their constituents and to work for them. Sadly, too many elected representatives at all levels of government forget this.