Council President Addresses Meeting Decorum

Following a spirited exchange during the public comment period at the end of the June 18 town council meeting, Council President Jim Letterie provided a brief refresher on council rules on decorum at last week’s meeting.

At the June 18 meeting, Precinct 5 Councilor Joseph Aiello and Jack Dowd, a resident who often provides input during the regular public input sessions, got into a back and forth over a recent DCR meeting Aiello attended. Letterie gaveled for order during the exchange that continued past the speaking time limit, and asked Dowd to leave the meeting if he couldn’t control himself.

At last week’s meeting, Aiello apologized to Dowd and for his behavior. Dowd declined to accept the apology.

“The last meeting, we had a number of contentious issues, and I have to make a public apology to Jack Dowd,” said Aiello. “I want to make clear that I violated my own value system. It doesn’t matter what a member of the public says to me, or how you say it; my responsibility is to serve the public, to listen, to absorb, to make judgments when asked to vote, and nothing.

“I violated that; I violated that with Mr. Dowd, and I really am sorry that I did that,” Aiello continued. “While I’m not forgiven, it is important for the public to understand I crossed a line I should never cross personally, and I am very sorry for that.”

During last week’s public comment period, Dowd said he was frustrated that he believes Aiello often seeks to clarify his comments or imply that his ideas are nonsense.

If a councilor has a disagreement with something he says, Dowd said they should put that issue on a future meeting’s agenda, and not rebut him during the public comment period.

Prior to Aiello’s apology, Letterie read from the council rules a number of relevant sections that apply to decorum and behavior from both the council members and the public.

The rules state, among other things, that discourse at council meetings shall be marked by courtesy and respect, even in the face of disagreement, and that discussion should be centered on the issues at hand.

“Members of the town council shall conduct themselves in an orderly manner to ensure that the business of the town is attended to as expeditiously and as deliberate as the process allows,” Letterie added. “Councilors shall address requests to speak through the council president and shall not speak until recognized; discussion shall be limited to to topic before the council, and extraneous issues shall have no place in the debate.”

During the public speaking sections of the meeting, Letterie said the council rules stipulate that comments from the public shall not invoke personalities, but shall be limited to the business of government issues in the town of Winthrop.

“People addressing the council shall do so in an orderly manner, and shall not make repetitious, slanderous, or irrelevant comments, nor shall they engage in disorderly conduct,” stated Letterie.