PETITION TO CARMEL TOWN SUPERVISOR, KEN SCHMITT; COUNCILMEN DIBATTISTA, RAVALLO, O\'KEEFE AND DICARLO. WHEREAS: In January 2008, Town Supervisor, Ken Schmitt and Councilmen DiBattista, Ravallo, O\'Keefe and DiCarlo approved rules prohibiting all public comment at Workshop meetings and limiting public comment solely to two minutes at the end of Town Board meetings after resolutions affecting town policy had been adopted, and WHEREAS: Such censoring of public comment by said Town Supervisor and Councilmen has the effect of blocking public\'s ability to affect town policy; and WHEREAS: Such action by said Town Supervisor and Councilmen impedes the democratic and beneficial exchange of views and opinions between citizens and their public officials; and WHEREAS: Such action by said Town Supervisor and Councilmen runs counter to the spirit and substance of the First Amendment to the Constitution which seeks to promote free speech; therefore We the residents of Carmel/Mahopac and taxpayers and citizens of Putnam County, protest this effort to silence the public and do hereby petition said Town Supervisor and Councilmen to void the rules adopted in January of 2008 and adopt procedures facilitating and encouraging public comment at both Work Sessions and Town Board meetings. Such public comment periods should include agenda and non-agenda items and be of sufficient length for the public to adequately and relevantly address the issues at hand.