IRVINE : Silencer Sought for Speech Timer

Councilwoman Paula Werner will try tonight to silence the bell that has chimed in council chambers since July.

The bell, usually rung by City Clerk Nancy C. Lacey, tells members of the public that they have gone past their allotted time in addressing the City Council. Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan revived the policy of limiting the time for each speaker as one of her first acts as mayor.

Previously, longtime Mayor Larry Agran allowed speakers to talk on issues until they had their say--which sometimes meant 20 or 30 minutes per person.

On July 24, Sheridan dusted off a 1975 ordinance that limits public speakers to five minutes for items on the agenda and to three minutes for general issues discussed during the “public comments” session of the twice-monthly council meetings.

Since that evening, Lacey has used a digital stopwatch and a palm-operated bell like those found on the top of motel desks to give long-winded speakers a “ding” as a 30-second warning, followed by a second “ding” to signify the end of their allotted time.

Sheridan said she revived the ordinance because some speakers tended to talk on and on, drawing out meetings to the wee hours of the next morning and requiring other members of the public to wait for hours for an opportunity to speak. Keeping city staff members at meetings late into the night also costs about $800 an hour in overtime, she said.

Werner, though, said she doesn’t think that a time limit is needed. She also complained to Sheridan in July that the ordinance was revived without input from other council members. She asked for a public discussion of the issue, scheduled at today’s 6:30 p.m. council meeting.

Until Sheridan revived use of the time-limit ordinance, it was utilized only on rare occasions during packed council meetings when dozens of speakers waited to have their say on an issue, Lacey said. Even then, she said, speakers rarely were cut off.

When the policy began this summer, a few speakers complained that they were being cut off when they still had important information to present and often spent part of their precious minutes asking the council for more time. But in recent weeks, most speakers have settled into the routine and Sheridan has been lenient in silencing speakers going a minute or two overtime.

If the time-limit policy continues, Lacey said, Irvine will probably purchase an automatic system of lights to alert speakers on their allotted time rather than requiring her to watch the clock. A yellow light would wink on to warn speakers that their time is nearly up, followed by a flashing red light at the end of their time.