Mayor Michael Ferguson

The public won’t get to speak anymore at Fredonia village government meetings, if Mayor Michael Ferguson has his way.

Ferguson announced at the end of Monday’s Board of Trustees workshop that he would ask the board to suspend or eliminate the public commenting portion of meetings. Trustees did not take any action on the request.

“The last few meetings that we’ve had, it’s come across that your evil mayor has rewritten the public portion for his own benefit or to twist lawsuits, etc.,” Ferguson began.

He thanked Village Clerk Makayla Yacklon for confirming that rules limiting the time of speakers have existed at least since 2018. Speakers are supposed to be limited to three minutes if speaking for themselves, and five minutes if speaking for a group.

“It was not this mayor who put that into place. It was not put into place about any lawsuit. It was not put into place to stop people from speaking,” Ferguson continued. “But the public portion, I remind you, as per law, is up to the individual communities. We broadcast this to the community, and you have the right to come to a meeting to watch the government in action. There is no law stating you must have (a) public portion.

“My only reason for possibly silencing (the) public portion, whether temporarily or permanently in my administration, is because of the lack of following these rules, and the extreme disruption that has happened multiple times in this room.”

Members of a faction in Fredonia’s ubiquitous water debate, “Save Our Reservoir,” have repeatedly irritated Ferguson in recent months with statements and actions during public comment portions. Former Village Attorney Samuel Drayo and Save Our Reservoir stalwart Andrew Ludwig have attempted to blow past the time limits on multiple occasions, stating that what they have to say is important to village business.

Ferguson said every trustee’s email and phone number are on the village website and people have the ability to speak to them. “I’m here five, six days a week. Talk to us and bring the concerns that you have to light.”

The public comments portions of meetings are “not a television show… not a way to be boastful,” the mayor went on. “This is a way to come in and share concerns. To me, personally, that right, or privilege of the floor as it is stated in legal terms, has been grossly abused over the course of the last year.”

Ferguson concluded that “It is upsetting to the business of this community. Which is why I, not the board, have asked that we take a look at the public portion of this, and either suspend it or eliminate it during the rest of my administration. It is not to censor the entire community…it is to maintain composure and safety of our community. I believe there are many people that don’t come to meetings and speak because of what they’ve witnessed in the past.”