As the mayor and city council go through the process of reviewing their rules of procedure regarding the public be heard session at their weekly meetings, they need to be very careful not to curb a process that has been good for city government and the public and serves a cathartic role for speakers.

Despite the claims of some #- there is no right of free speech at city council meetings - it is a privilege, not a right. In the early 1990s procedures were codified to not only clarify time limits and process, but also to put in place (at that time) two periods - at the start and at the end of each meeting - for the public to speak and give their thoughts.

Since then the city has sometimes tried to tweak these rules, usually to limit access, rather than expand it. Yet, the problems the city now sees with its public be heard sessions are somewhat self inflicted, due in large part to the failure to keep the rules consistent for all and enforce them even for the slightest infractions.

Inconsistent oversight by the chair, in this case Mayor Timothy Lattimore, makes it more of a challenge to enforce the rules, when decorum, good taste and the line for slander may or may not be crossed.

Lattimore, who would like to see the rules tightened, even to extent of editing the tapes of council sessions played on public access television (a truly bad idea), to lead the council meetings more consistently.

For example, Lattimore has clearly allowed people he agrees with or likes, to speak longer than the allotted three minutes. There is nothing to bar the mayor, or for that matter, any city councilor to say that they would like to give a speaker more time, to either get more information or to let them explain a more complex issue. But in both cases, that requires them to positively affirm a time extension, something that is currently not done.

One area Lattimore may already have some leeway in, is asking that those who regularly speak at council sessions to have something new to add. That speakers be required to make new points, not rehash continuing or old complaints raised week in and week out (or for that matter month in and month out).

Lattimore has also suggested going to a system like the Cayuga County Legislature's, that requires speakers to get the “Privilege of the Floor” from their legislator - that would be a horrible step backwards for the city.

The county's system is one of the least democratic in local government (and should be reformed); especially since someone who is a dissenter may not be comfortable asking their legislator to get the floor for them.

The mayor and city council need to be very careful and strike the right balance between censorship and an unregulated free for all.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com