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Phone Usage Spurs Debate: City Commissioners Disagree on Whether Board Members, Including Those Who Are Handicapped, Should Be Allowed to Participate in Meetings By Telephone

Posted on: Sunday, 16 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Amy Sherman, The Miami Herald

Apr. 16--If the mayor can't make a City Commission meeting, he can participate via telephone. Ditto for his colleagues on the commission.

But the Pembroke Pines City Commission decided at a recent meeting not to extend the same perk to residents who serve on city boards.

In a 3-2 vote, commissioners decided not to set a policy related to board members participating in meetings via the telephone. That means the decision lies with each board to decide whether members can participate if they aren't present.

The issue arose recently after a debate on the Arts and Culture Board about whether to allow a member with a disability to participate by telephone.

"It was fairly disruptive when we tried it," board member Debbie Allen said. "The person doesn't know when they are being recognized [to speak]. It was a bit chaotic."

But ultimately the board recently decided to allow participation by telephone.

The member, Joe Hecht, was injured last year and now uses a wheelchair. Because he doesn't drive, he often participates in meetings by phone.

Whether disabled or not, as long as board members are productive, they should be allowed to participate even on the telephone, Hecht said in an interview.

The Pembroke Pines City Commission appoints volunteers to several boards that advise the commission on matters such as economic development, zoning and other areas. The boards help the City Commission do its homework about a topic, sometimes collecting public input or directing staff to research an issue.

For board members, it can be an opportunity to give back to a community they love or want to improve -- and in some cases it is a steppingstone to running for the City Commission.

Commissioner Angelo Castillo proposed at the April 5 commission meeting that the city create a policy allowing board members to participate by telephone.

"I think the least we can do is help him to continue staying active in our community by providing the simple means to allow his participation," Castillo wrote in an e-mail to City Manager Charlie Dodge about Hecht.

Because commissioners can participate by phone, Castillo says board members should have the same right.

The City Commission uses a device that allows a commissioner who is out of town, for example, to call in during the meeting. The audience can hear the commissioner on a speaker.

Some commissioners expressed concern that a board member participating by phone would not see presentations made to the board.

"If I'm not there to see it visually, how do I make my vote?" Siple said -- adding that she didn't want to exclude people with disabilities from participating. Siple said she wants to re-visit the issue of whether the commissioners should be allowed to participate by telephone.

Castillo and Mayor Frank Ortis supported allowing board members to participate by telephone while commissioners Bill Armstrong, Carl Shechter and Siple voted against it.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Miami Herald

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