The Monroe County Board of Health will consider a new public comment policy following members’ concerns about productivity and time constraints.
The board removed public comment from its May 15 meeting agenda, which is typically among the first items on the schedule. While there is no law requiring public bodies to take public comments during meetings, the health board and other governing boards in Monroe County have consistently made time for it in the past.
Board Chairperson Dawne “Aurora” DiOrio told the IDS that she had removed public comment as well as certain regularly scheduled reports from the agenda for their May meeting due to time constraints — certain members had to leave early, and the board also had to finalize a budget to present to the county council for their approval.
“I think people took both of those things to mean that we were somehow restricting or saying we were going to ban public comment,” DiOrio said. “When that wasn’t at all the intent.”
In an interview with the Indiana Daily Student, DiOrio said public comment was typically limited to three minutes per person. Within the last year, there had been concerns about the board's ability to complete its agenda as it was difficult to gauge how many people would comment.
The board discussed changing what public comment could look like at the May meeting, with some members citing recent adversarial public comments, negativity and its impact on employees as concerns.
At the board meeting in April, commenters asked for increased transparency and accountability regarding the closing of the Futures Family Planning Clinic in August 2024. Former Futures employees raised their concerns at the meeting about Monroe County health administrator Lori Kelley’s leadership before and during the closing of the clinic.
“One of the major reasons that I left is frankly due to Lori’s leadership, or lack thereof,” Chris Hustead, the former Futures clinic manager, said at the April meeting.
DiOrio said several members volunteered to draft a policy that could utilize the board’s email or have a public comment form on their website. She said this could also benefit those who may not feel comfortable coming in and speaking to the board publicly.
DiOrio also mentioned a potential change to in-person comments, such as making public comments issue-specific during monthly meetings and allowing virtual participants to raise their hands.
DiOrio said at the upcoming June meeting the board may discuss the new policy. They aim to hold an in-person public comment meeting on the new policy in July. After that, the board will potentially vote in August to put the new procedure in place, DiOrio said.
