Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, Wednesday night, set the rules for how the public forum portion of City Council meetings will be handled. The unwritten mandate follows a time of public comment during the May 16th City Council meeting, whereby two local business owners got into a verbal sparring match with Jones, and Councilperson Kathy Somers over proposed business incentives and the prospect of grants being provided instead of loans.

Atlantic City Council meeting, 6-6-2018

Jones said anyone wishing to address the Council at future meetings should fill out an online form indicating the topic you wish to talk about, and submit the form to City Hall prior to the next meeting. Persons will have two minutes to speak, but if the discussion on a particular subject is redundant, the speaker will be asked to sit down and let someone else speak who has reserved their time. You will come to the podium, state your name, where you are from and the subject matter.

If something comes up during Council discussion on a matter that you do not understand, you will be required to raise your hand and come to the podium when called on. Atlantic resident Bill Saluk said the incident that occurred during last months meeting was inappropriate, but he questioned the two-minute rule. Saluk said “It seems like the function of government should be to be responsive to its citizens and that [the time constraints and answers] seems to make it much more complicated to be able to express your opinion and get anything done.” He also questioned the validity of unwritten rules and the legality of enforcing them when there is no written procedure.

Jones said the time can be adjusted, but again, if the discussion is repeated over and over, the speaker will be asked to take a seat. As for the City Council, Jones said if they have a question during the Public Forum part of the meeting, he suggests it would be best if “They refrain from asking questions,” but they may still ask. He added that no action can be taken by the Council on a particular matter during the public forum. Any action would have to come on the heels of a recommendation from whichever committee is assigned to tackle certain matters.

Thomas Schroeder, one of the business persons who was at the May 16th meeting, asked when the online form to be available and how soon an issue may be addressed by the Council. Mayor Jones said the form should be available on the City’s website in a couple of days, and the issue or concern may be addressed after it’s brought before the appropriate committee. That could take anywhere from two-weeks to a month. Schroeder was in a meeting with Dave Jones with regard to business incentives. That meeting was the topic of the aforementioned May 16th heated discussion, during which Schroeder and his business partner Tayla Kamies alleged Jones pushed them toward other incentives instead of the Economic Development Revolving (EDR) Loan fund.

Councilman Chris Jimerson suggested that if the Mayor or any Council Member meets with a citizen or business owner on official City business, another Council person or and/or the Mayor should be present, to act as a witness to the discussion. That, he said, would alleviate any contradictory statements being made by City officials.