Corte Madera — During open time on Sept. 16, multiple residents urged the Town Council to revise its municipal flag policy to require council review when lowering the town flag to half-staff after a presidential proclamation.

Anita Bach, who gave the legal framing for the request, told the council the town recently lowered its flag following a presidential order and urged the town to adopt a policy requiring council review in controversial circumstances. "Under the U.S. Flag Code, a local town can refuse a presidential half-staff proclamation ... The flag code is a guideline, not a legally enforceable law," Bach said.

The nut graf: Speakers told the council that lowering the flag in response to presidential proclamations can be perceived as an endorsement and that a process requiring council review in politically charged cases would reduce community discord.

Steve Kaplan and Shelley McCall were among other residents who spoke in favor of policy revision, saying the lowered flag can be interpreted as honoring individuals whose rhetoric they called divisive. Kaplan said symbolic actions matter and urged the council to "take a hard look at when and how and for whom you would order your flags lowered." McCall said residents felt offended in the recent instance and urged the council to provide clearer guidance.

Town Manager Adam Wolf told council members he had discussed the matter with staff and that legal review suggested local officials do have discretion over municipal flags. "Now that we know that, I'm perfectly comfortable with the status quo," Wolf said later in the meeting while describing options for staff to bring the item back for policy clarification.

Town staff and the town attorney explained there are choices the council can make about adding explicit guidance; council members discussed whether to agendize a policy change now or allow staff to act under existing discretion. No formal change to the town's flag policy was made at the Sept. 16 meeting.

Ending: Council members said they would "think about" whether to place a formal flag-policy amendment on a future agenda and asked staff to advise on any narrow text that might clarify discretion for future managers.