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Council to study town-hall policies after Countryside meeting was disrupted by 'First Amendment auditors'
Summary
Council members said a recent town-hall in Countryside was disrupted by self-described First Amendment auditors, and agreed to place discussion of changes — including possible registration or residency requirements and camera location rules — on a future work session agenda.
Council members agreed during closing comments May 1 to place a discussion about how to run future town-hall meetings on a work session agenda after a Countryside meeting was disrupted by people the council described as First Amendment auditors.
Council member Paul Breiten said the Tuesday night town hall “took an unexpected turn” when self‑described First Amendment auditors disrupted the meeting, creating “some tense atmosphere prompting some community members to leave the meeting early out of concern for their safety.” Breiten said the council had removed a standing "citizens to be heard" item from regular meetings to reduce disruptions and had intended to take neighborhood input via town halls.
Breiten proposed options for limiting future disruptions, including requiring speakers to own property or a business in Clearwater, registering in advance and showing credentials. “Maybe we should be talking about… limiting it to people that own property, that live in Clearwater, or own a business in Clearwater,” Breiten said. He also suggested restricting where people with cameras may film during public meetings so they do not stand in other attendees’ faces: “If you're gonna… monetize your YouTube website, you could do with your… phone, but do it back there on the back row where it's not… pushing into people's faces,” he said.
The mayor responded that the topic should be scheduled for the next work session so the city attorney could prepare options. “Put it on the work session agenda,” the mayor said; council members concurred that further legal review and discussion were appropriate.
Council members did not adopt any new rules that night. The item will return for discussion after staff and the city attorney prepare options on permissible limits, registration mechanisms and decorum rules. Breiten and other council members said they want to balance free-speech rights with protecting residents' safety and meeting decorum.
The record shows the Countryside town hall was intended to gather neighborhood input; council members said the disruption was severe enough that some residents left early and that the council should consider procedural changes going forward.
