Public Comment at Local Government Meetings: A Case Study from Vigo County, Indiana

During the pandemic, school board meetings were under high scrutiny. When some boards refused to take public comment, outrage rose all the way to the Indiana statehouse and prompted new laws for stricter requirements for public comment at board meetings.

This change sets school boards apart from other units of local government. In addition to the Open Door Law, that requires all units of local government to post meetings in advance and allow those meetings to be open to the public, school boards must also allow oral public comment at every meeting and that comment must take place before official action.

Strikingly, city and county councils have no such requirements on their proceedings. That is left to bylaws and local discretion. State statutes require public comment at council meetings for a limited number of topics, including annual budgets, taxes and levies, as well as zoning and public planning.

But common sense and political intuition (which one assumes are at least moderately present in those fortunate enough to serve in elected public office) dictate that some actions need public comment, even when they are not strictly required by law.

Case Study: Vigo County Council’s recent decision to pass an ordinance that would preempt potential financial collaboration between the County and the Schools.

Setting aside the many legal questions raised by this ordinance, this measure was passed before a single member of the public, in favor or opposed, had the opportunity to speak to the council. To add insult to public injury, when the council next met for the purpose of hearing a full presentation, with public comment, about a proposed oversight board related to potential collaboration for school facilities, a majority of board members (the same members who voted the ordinance through) did not attend.

Imagine now that members of a public school board had behaved in like fashion. Not only would they be in violation of state law, they would likely be recalled from office by an outraged public.

The refusal of public officials to listen and simply take in information – even if they are opposed to what is said – runs in the face of representative government.

It also highlights a remarkable disparity between units of local government that our state legislators should scrutinize. If school boards need these measures to protect public comment, city and county councils need them as well. The latest events in Vigo County make this abundantly clear.

I urge Indiana legislators to use the upcoming short session to discuss this issue. It would be worthy work to elevate other units of local government to the same level as public school boards, and protect constituent voices more broadly.