Council Faces Pressure to Balance Open Dialogue with Meeting Decorum

DECORAH — The Decorah City Council's open public comment policy drew sharp criticism during their Monday, December 2 meeting when a resident raised concerns about the rules governing who may speak and the conduct of recent sessions. The comments highlighted tensions over balancing inclusivity with order in the council's proceedings. Resident Carol Birkland called for the council to adopt stricter procedural rules. She questioned why individuals from outside the city are allowed to speak during meetings and voiced concern that the council was enabling irrelevant and disruptive commentary. "City councils all over Iowa have instituted reasonable rules to ensure orderly meetings," Birkland said, citing an example from Algona, Iowa, where a 13-page procedural document governs public participation. She argued that the council's current approach lacked safeguards against personal attacks and off-topic remarks, stating, "Debate on policy is healthy. Debate on personality is not." Birkland also criticized recent occurrences where private grievances were aired, describing them as a "disgraceful spectacle." She urged the council to establish clear boundaries, including content guidelines and stricter decorum standards. Calls for Structure and Civility Birkland also highlighted specific recommendations for improving decorum during meetings. She called on the council to adopt rules that explicitly prohibit language attacking the personal character of city officials and to empower the presiding officer to cut off disruptive or irrelevant commentary. "The presiding officer can cut off anything that is too personal, too loud, inappropriate, or repetitive," Birkland said, referencing guidelines from Algona's city council rules. She added that the lack of structure in Decorah's meetings undermines the value of public input. Birkland also called for these rules to apply across all city committees, noting a recent Decorah Parks and Recreation Board meeting where a non-resident proposed a unique idea for horse-related activities in the city. "If she were in Algona, Iowa, she would have been out of order," Birkland said. Council's Response While no formal changes to the public comment policy were proposed during the meeting, the issue is likely to return to the council's agenda. The mayor and councilmembers acknowledged the importance of maintaining an open platform for residents while addressing the challenges of managing public discourse. Mayor Lorraine Borowski acknowledged the concerns and said efforts are underway to address the issues. "I'm a believer that anybody in the community should be able to state how they feel," Borowski said, but added that improvements could be made to ensure respectful and productive discourse. She stated that she would research public comment policies used by other municipalities and share her findings with the council in the near future. Stay ahead of the curve! Subscribe to free newsletters for exclusive insights, local trends and analysis delivered straight to your inbox.