A 17-year-old Pottsville resident may apparently have more common sense than some of the adults who serve on Pottsville City Council, particularly involving the right of the citizenry to address their elected representatives in a public forum.

The 17-year-old in question is Scott Thomas, chairman of the Schuylkill County Teenage Republicans. He, along with about 20 other protestors, requested that council change its policy on requiring the need to inform the city clerk at least five days in advance of the desire to speak at a council meeting.

We were not aware there was a pre-registration clause in the First Amendment for freedom of speech.

Thankfully, council is planning to review its Public Participation Policy, which it approved at its Feb. 12 meeting, due to the protest. But even with the potential change of heart, it is still troubling that council would enact such restricting policies in the first place.

We do not take away any council’s authority and ability to operate its own meetings within the parameters of city codes and the Sunshine Law. However, there should be limitations on any policy that restricts the directing of legitimate questions and comments by citizens to public officials, be they city or borough council members, township supervisors, school board directors, mayors, borough, township or city managers, or others present at a meeting during the public portion of a meeting.

The current policy places a burden on a citizen who must ask for permission to speak at a council meeting at least five days ahead of time. How can anyone make a reservation to speak without even knowing the agenda items to be discussed and acted upon? If a citizen has a question about something discussed at the meeting, will he or she have to wait until the next meeting to speak about it? Why should the mayor have the power to grant permission for a citizen to speak who is not on the agenda?

There is another disturbing limitation in the policy. Why can’t a citizen specifically address an individual council member? If one council member votes for or against a particular issue, why shouldn’t a member of the public be able to ask that council member why he or she voted that way?

Yes, council needs to operate its meetings in an orderly way, which requires some control over long-winded statements, irrelevant questions or slanderous remarks from a meeting attendee. Some people just like to hear themselves talk and can drone on and on and say absolutely nothing. But you don’t need a broad policy to control that. What is needed is a strong presider who knows when to cut someone short when talking points are repeated or non-existent.

Ashland Borough Council meetings have a very open policy for the public. At the beginning of each monthly meeting, the council president asks the public if there are any comments or questions on the agenda items. A copy of the agenda is available prior to the meeting. At the meeting’s conclusion, the public is again asked for comments or questions on agenda or non-agenda matters. Questions can be directed to any council member, the mayor or other borough official. Everyone may not get their questions answered to their satisfaction, but at least they get the opportunity to ask those questions publicly and have them placed in the meeting minutes.

Hopefully, Pottsville City Council will make major changes to its public participation policy to allow greater access to its elected and appointed officials.

In a prepared statement Monday, Thomas said, “The reality is that we actually need more public participation in government, not less.”

Amen to that.