Okeechobee County commissioners move to tighten public-comment rules, pursue trespass ordinance after disruptions

At a recent meeting of the Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners, members agreed to update their public-comment procedures, direct staff to draft a trespass ordinance for county facilities and remove an administrative regulation that delayed scheduling public hearings, following a series of disruptions during the meeting's public-comment period.

The county attorney opened the discussion with a legal memorandum outlining the county's authority to regulate decorum in a limited public forum, citing the county's code of ordinances and case law. The attorney said the board's meetings are a "limited public forum" and noted the county's code of ordinances (section 2-18) requires civility and permits the chair to remove disorderly attendees. She described several constitutionally permissible, content-neutral options for the board, including requiring advance registration, changing when non-agenda comments occur, or limiting comment to agenda items.

Commissioners and staff focused on three practical items: revising the speaker card and related procedures to make topics and expectations clearer to commenters, drafting a county trespass ordinance for public facilities (modeled on existing municipal examples) with a proposed maximum exclusion period up to two years and an administrative appeal to a special magistrate, and removing language in an administrative regulation that required requests to schedule a public hearing to first be placed on the consent agenda.

During public comment several attendees disrupted proceedings and were removed by deputies, prompting commissioners to press for clearer enforcement tools. The county attorney said a trespass ordinance would provide "procedural due process" by establishing an appeal path for an excluded person. She also told the board the county could permit short-term exemptions (for example, to allow someone to attend a required, one-day administrative transaction) if the board wanted that flexibility.

Commissioners debated operational details. Some said requiring advance sign-up would be reasonable; others objected that it could prevent someone from addressing an urgent, same-day problem such as a roadway pothole. Commissioners also discussed whether non-agenda comment should remain at the start of meetings, move to another time, or be limited to agenda items. Several members emphasized protecting the right of residents to address the board while seeking ways to deter repeated, disruptive outsiders who do not live in the county.

Board direction recorded during the meeting included: update the speaker card (to request but not force name/address and to indicate allowable topics), pursue a trespass ordinance for public facilities with an appeals process to a special magistrate and a sunset period (the draft discussed referenced up to two years), and strike the administrative-regulation requirement that a request to schedule a public hearing be placed on the consent agenda so hearings can be scheduled more promptly. The county attorney and staff were also asked to coordinate with the sheriff's office and state attorney's office on enforcement options and legal remedies, including guidance on restraining orders where appropriate.

A procedural motion to close public comment was made by Commissioner Burrows and seconded by Commissioner Goodbread; the chair called the motion carried unanimously. No formal vote on the trespass ordinance or on changes to the speaker card occurred at the meeting; those items were directed back to staff for drafting and legal review.

The meeting concluded with commissioners thanking law enforcement and staff for restoring order and with the board moving forward to consider draft language at a future meeting.