Sunflower County Board of Supervisors President Riley Rice said the county leaders are wasting time by excessively discussing certain items on the agenda and he wants to limit the individual remarks and discussions to no more than five minutes.
Rice said, "Sometime we consume too much time on one item, so we need to limit the time because most of the time when I speak on an item I know what questions I'm going to ask."
After making his statement, Rice subsequently called upon each of the county leaders to share his or her opinion on his suggestion.
District 3 Supervisor Ben Gaston said, "You're right. We spend a lot of time saying the same thing over, and over, and over. Usually, if the item is on the agenda, I read the agenda in advance and I kinda know what I want to say based on what I know about the subject."
Gaston then added, "A lot of time we'll get stuff in, we'll get people in to talk about stuff that aren't even on the agenda and I can see why somebody would have additional questions.
He suggested that the procedure be to call on the individual supervisors present in order for each to give their opinion on a particular topic and then move on. "Too many times we beat a dead horse to death," he said.
District 5 Supervisor Gloria Dickerson said she also felt there was a need to place limits on certain subjects because they have a lot to cover. "To my experience, we’ve probably been missing some of the things we should be discussing because so much time is spent on any one item," she said. But she indicated that limits should be based on a case-by-case assessment.
Initially, District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald said he had no comment on the subject. However, he later remarked that he was just waiting to hear what the other members had to say first. "I think it's just respecting one another, I think it's treating each other like adults," Donald asserted.
Then addressing Rice and his alleged propensity to engage in an occasional extended monologue, Donald said, "No offense Mr. Rice, but I don't think we need a lecture every meeting from you on how we ought to be acting. Sometime you treat us like we're third graders and maybe we act like we're third graders, but I don't think we need that every meeting or twice a meeting."
Donald continued by sharing an illustration of how he felt the typical dialogue should go and what he thought was the appropriate way for them to respond to each other. "But you can't tell me I can't speak or I can't make a motion, we're out of order then. If I intelligently raise my hand, you have to give me a spot to speak. Every supervisor is equal in here; the chairman just conducts the meeting.”
Donald persisted with his interpretation of how the meeting should flow. “If I'm speaking, if I'm not saying something you want to hear, let me finish talking and then you say your objection to what I got to say after I finish talking. I think respect is our problem in here." Donald said.
He added that "respect is everything" and that even though he may feel as though someone doesn't know what they're talking about he's not going to down them or demean them during the meeting.
Rice agreed that respect was needed and added, "Yes, I say things to try to get us back in motion and I don't think it's nothing wrong with that."
District 4 Supervisor Anthony Clark was still out due to illness.
However, Attorney Johnny McWilliams also had an opinion on the matter. "I have never seen any board of supervisors, any governing body that I've work for over the last 46 years do what you all are talking about doing and I don't think it's right. I don't think you should ever limit yourself in your discussions on something that is before the board for a decision.”
McWilliams informed them that they have an alternate solution to their problem—within the Roberts Rules of Order—that they have never opted to use. "I've never seen anybody call the question. That's how you're supposed to limit debate when you've heard as much as you want to," he said.
McWilliams then proceeded to give them the steps for using the procedure and offered to share a copy with each of them so they will know the steps of the process. First, the member must have the floor in order to make the motion and they should wait to be recognized by the chair.
McWilliams cautioned that by enacting the process they were only expressing a desire to halt the discussion. It is a suggestion. The motion must also have a second and there is no debate. The motion requires a two-thirds vote in order to pass and that ends the debate.
The general consensus was that McWilliams’ suggestion was a viable one that should be used.
