COMMENTARY

MARK SCHUMANN

When Joseph Guffanti challenged Councilwoman Tracy Carroll recently during public comment time, Carroll told Guffanti the City Charter protects Council members from personal attacks.

Carroll was confusing two key points.  First, the limitations on “personal, impertinent, slanderous, obscene, profane, inflammatory, irrelevant or immaterial remarks” are found, not in the City Charter, but in the City Code.  This, of course, is the same Code Carroll claimed to know well when she wielded it like a mallet during last night’s Council meeting.

Second, and more importantly, the protections, such as they are, are in place, not just for the benefit of Council members, as Carroll seems to believe, but for all citizens.

Carroll was quick to threaten Guffanti with removal from the Council Chambers, but, as Linda Hillman pointed out last night, during that same meeting the Vice Mayor allowed Charlie Wilson to stand at the lectern for more than five minutes attacking in all directions, firing faster than a gatling gun.  So long as the slanderous, impertinent and irrelevant comments are not directed at Carroll, she seem to be fine with them.

Last night, Brian Heady was removed from the lectern during public comment time after he repeatedly refused Mayor Fletcher’s requests that he change the tack of remarks.

Had Heady simply made the point that the Vice Mayor is at the center of the short-term rental issue, that would have been appropriate, and even useful, for in the Council discussion that followed Carroll didn’t have the good sense to recuse herself.

Heady: “I’ve been asked to speak about an important issue, and it is an important issue, and it is the Tracy Carroll thing – again.  Not the same complaint, but the Tracy Carroll thing.  And the issue today is can you rent your home for a night, by the week, by the hour.  Whatever the time frame is it is all the same.  It’s about short term rentals. Not seasonal rentals. That’s different. We are talking about short-term rentals, short-term, a night, and hour, whatever, I don’t know what it is.  So, someone complains, and then we have a Code question, and then the Code Enforcement Board of non-elected officials decides that it’s ok to rent short-term.  And the person in question that owns the property that is the subject of the complaints is none other than, once again, Tracy Carroll.”

Fletcher: “Brian, don’t make it personal, ok.  Talk in general terms.  You keep referring to Mrs. Carroll.”

With that advice, Heady bored in with remarks that were even more personal, if not impertinent.  He went off on a tangent, talking about how much Carroll makes as a Council member, and the value of Carroll’s properties and her taxes.

Heady:  “I’m not making it personal. I’m just talking about who’s involved, a Vero Beach resident. The person is a City Council member, an elected official, an official that is paid less than minimum wage for the amount of time that it takes to do the job. So, I tell you that had me scratching my head.”

Heady continued in this vein for another minute or so, when Fletcher interrupted him.

Fletcher: “Brian, I’m going to tell you one more time, don’t make it personal.”

Heady continued until Fletcher switched off the lectern microphone.

Fletcher: “I’ve turned your microphone off, if you didn’t notice. Brian, you are out of order.  Officer, would you remove Mr. Heady from the dais (lectern).”

Heady was clearly in the wrong last night.  If he continues to make an issue of what happened, you can bet it’s just a ploy on his part to gain attention in advance of the Nov. 5 City Council election.  If Heady is elected, don’t expect him to make any better use of the Council’s time from the dais than he did last night from the lectern.

The following is the specific language in the City Code regarding the rules for addressing the Council.

Sec. 2-54. – Addressing the council generally.

(C–1) – Manner of addressing council; time limit. Each person recognized by the presiding officer and granted leave to address the council shall: (i) step up to the microphone; (ii) shall provide the city clerk with his name and address for the record; and (iii) unless further time is granted by majority vote of the council, shall limit his address to three minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and not to any individual member thereof. No person, other than the council and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the council, without the permission of the presiding officer. No question shall be asked a councilmember except through the presiding officer. Once a motion is made by a councilmember, no person from the audience shall address the council.

(c – 2) – Decorum generally:

a. By councilmembers  While the council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall not, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the council, or disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the council or its presiding officer, except as otherwise provided in this article.

b. By all persons. Any person making personal, impertinent, slanderous, obscene, profane, inflammatory, irrelevant or immaterial remarks, or who shall become boisterous while in the council chambers, or shall incite violence or fighting, whether or not addressing the council, shall be declared by the presiding officer to be out of order. Any person who refuses to obey an order of the presiding officer in relation to preserving order and decorum shall be barred from further attendance at the meeting in question, unless permission to remain is granted by a majority vote of the council. No heckling or verbal outbursts in support or opposition to a speaker or his remarks shall be permitted.