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North Hempstead board approves rule change to have presiding officer call public-comment cards
Summary
After debate over fairness and clerk independence, the Town of North Hempstead adopted a resolution shifting the calling of public-comment cards from the town clerk to the presiding officer; the board also approved an employee/appointments resolution.
The Town of North Hempstead board voted on April 1 to amend its rules of procedure to make the presiding officer (the supervisor or acting presiding officer) responsible for calling public-comment cards, a role historically handled by the town clerk.
Supporters said the change would align North Hempstead with other local bodies and make the process consistent. "We wanted to make the change to make it consistent with what the other towns do," the official leading the proposal said.
Opponents warned the change could reduce the perceived independence of card-calling and enable discretionary selection of speakers. Councilmember (identified in the transcript as) Councilman Chanel said the move "takes something the public loses" by moving the function from the clerk to a board member; he voted no. Other members expressed a range of views about first-come/first-served numbering and the supervisor's authority to designate an acting presiding officer if she steps out.
The roll-call portion of the transcript records these votes on the rules amendment: Councilman Chanel voted no; President Scott voted aye; Councilman Walsh voted yes; Councilman Liu voted no; Supervisor DeSena voted aye.
Separately, the board adopted item 48, a personnel resolution authorizing employment actions across departments. The vote on item 48 was recorded as unanimous aye votes from the members present.
The board concluded by adopting the consent calendar earlier in the meeting and adjourning; no additional changes to the public-comment process were implemented that night beyond the adopted amendment to the rules of procedure.
Next steps: the adopted rules will be posted as amended; several councilmembers said they may seek further clarifications in future meetings about the deputy presiding officer role and how first-come/first-served cards will be guaranteed.
