Hennepin County Board chair wants to stop streaming public comments at meetings

The chair of the Hennepin County Board is proposing that public commenting during committee meetings no longer be streamed online.

Commissioner Marion Greene unveiled the proposal earlier this month, saying that the board would remain committed to conducting its business in the open even as she and other commissioners described the move as a way to limit the spread of misinformation and hate speech through board meetings.

"All meetings are streamed live. Board briefings are public," Greene said. "County policymaking and decisionmaking is completely transparent."

Previously, people who called in comments or spoke in person during the open forum section of the board meetings were broadcast and included in the public record. The board's seven commissioners weren't allowed to respond or offer context to any comments.

Depending on the issue, the forums were often dominated with comments from the county's employee union, along with advocacy groups and supporters. Commissioner Angela Conley said she believes complete board transparency is a critical reason to continue to air public comments.

"We are stewards of the public and we do $2 billion worth of business each year in representation of more than 1 million residents of the county," said Conley. "People should be part of the public record."

Although the county broadcasts board and committee meetings, there aren't any rules or regulations that require it. The county decided to include the open forums several years ago. The forums are held for full board and committee meetings, which range from public safety to health and human services. The proposal would limit forums to committee meetings.

The board will vote on Greene's proposal Tuesday. It would allow people to comment for two minutes instead of three minutes under previous forum guidelines. Prior to the pandemic people could speak only in person. During the pandemic, this switched to recorded comments only. The proposal would allow for in-person or recorded comments.

"We continue to listen to community, however and wherever they show up," said Greene, who is the only commissioner facing an opponent for re-election this year.

All comments will be heard by commissioners. If public comment lasts for longer than thirty minutes, the remainder of comments will be shared with board members in an e-mail to listen to on their own schedules.

Transparency in the conduct of Hennepin County business "is at our core," said Greene.

"We take that public trust very seriously.

While the board welcomes residents' comments during open forums, Greene said there have been concerns about misinformation. The role of the board during open forums is to listen without responding. That can lead to the assumption that what is being said is accurate or factually correct.

In a committee meeting discussion about her proposal earlier this month, she cited a caller who claimed that all voting machines were unsecured and tampered with and that the county refused to share real election results.

Ali Fuhrman, president of AFSCME Local 2822 representing 1,300 clerical and support staff workers at Hennepin County, said the union is in favor of increasing accessibility and allowing public comment both over the phone and in person, but believes that all comments must be televised during all commissioner meetings for transparency.

"If you don't televise public comments, they're not public comments. They're just words in a vacuum with no record and no accountability," Fuhrman said. "This proposal would silence the faces and voices of Hennepin County's diverse residents and workers. We have the right to speak out on issues that affect our lives and our communities ... If Commissioner Greene's proposed changes go through, it would be a shameful blow to democracy and freedom of speech."

It appears Conley is the only commissioner who plans to vote against the proposal. In the board's earlier discussion, she said she wasn't aware of another example of public comments not being televised. Commissioner Debbie Goettel said Eden Prairie doesn't broadcast comments in "open podiums" before City Council meetings and Richfield will stop showing comments if they involve hate speech.

Conley recalled that when the open forum idea was first pitched, she was pleased that residents had another opportunity to connect with elected leaders. She is trying to find a way to keep comments in the public record.

"I ran for election to include voices in everything we do," she said.