By Pepper Fisher

SEQUIM — The Sequim City Council is implementing a new procedure for remote public comments during City Council meetings. Going forward, all community members who wish to participate in remote public comment, via Zoom or by phone, are required to register on the City website at sequimwa.gov/1219/Submit-Public-Comments by 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

City officials say the new registration process is designed to streamline and enhance the public comment experience for everyone involved, but there may be another benefit to the new policy.

At more than one City Council meeting, unknown callers have disrupted the proceedings with vulgar hate speech. We asked City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross if the new policy is designed to help curtail those kinds of calls. In an email, Nelson Gross wrote, “Short answer is yes. Because the public comment at Council meetings and other similar meetings is considered a limited public forum, jurisdictions have some ability to control the message, so long as the rules are content/view-point neutral. The registration form is a tactic used by other jurisdictions who have had some success with it. While it may not completely remove any possibility of similar comments in the future, other jurisdictions report that it has been a deterrent. Bottom line, hate speech is not unlawful.”

Members of the public are still welcome to provide in-person comments while attending the meetings at the Civic Center.  Written comments are also accepted and may be mailed to clerk@sequimwa.gov.

The Sequim City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 6:00 p.m.