For the second time in three weeks, the Florence city council removed details from previous meeting minutes.
Councilman Matt Williams moved to condense a section of the Aug. 20 meeting minutes. The condensed section included a comment from resident Darla Spencer criticizing the council, saying she would “think hard next time she went to the polls.”
Williams motioned to change the description to say she and other community members expressed concerns about the Crystal Springs situation. The motion passed 3-1.
“I want to cut these pages down from six pages or 13 pages,” he said. “Just a couple would be great. We don’t need to hire a stenographer.”
Several audience members spoke out, protesting that the minutes were already written and it was important to keep them accurate.
“That’s like picking up the city’s trash and then you dump the truck and pick it up again,” Evan Slater said.
Spencer addressed the topic of censorship when she made her comment, city clerk Janet Robertson said.
“In defense of myself, Darla personally asked her comment be put in the minutes,” she said.
Councilman Trayce Warner opposed the censorship of meeting minutes Monday and at a previous meeting.
She spoke in support of the audience having a voice at council meetings.
“We are not kings and queens,” she said. “We are representatives of these people out here. They have a right to ask questions, they have a right to expect answers.”
(Read more: PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin)