Dilemma of rule eight remains

On Jan. 23, the city of Collinsville did a good thing by eliminating the Consent Agenda orchestrated and enjoyed by our recently fired City Manager Bob Knabel.

In 2011, the grouping of several different issues under one vote consisted of a yearly total of 140 issues adopted without an explanation. One of the issues in my craw is the appointment of the finance treasurer who does not live in the city.

Regrettably, at that same council meeting it was unanimously voted to continue the same 2003 rules that out current mayor has failed to enforce on several occasions. Now all 10 of the chairmen of the various board and commissions will have the dilemma of enforcing rule eight.

Rule eight states "Speakers shall not be permitted to advertise, solicit, request, urge, summon or cajole the governing board or the general public, except as otherwise provided for herein, with regard to any products, goods, services, information, gains, losses, advantages, consequences or any other similar matter, notwithstanding that there may or may not be any pecuniary, monetary, financial or property gain, loss or benefit to the speaker or any other person of entity."

I think that creates a problem when a residents might speak at say the Zoning Board of Appeals, where neither the Recording Secretary Catherine K. Meyer or City Liaison Mitchell E. Blair live in the city. That speaker might request, urge, summon or cajole said governing body to compel all members to live in the city.

In that scenario should Chairman Terry Falline not enforce rule eight to protect the speaker's First Amendment rights or would he stop the speaker and subject himself and the members to scrutiny by the American Civil Liberties Union or a suit in federal court.

I believe most of our residents have high regard for the First Amendment.

Bob Despain

Collinsville