OXFORD – Much of Wednesday evening's Oxford Town Board meeting was business as usual, but some latter discussion with regard to drafting new policy and procedures pertaining to public comment garnered a nod from some community members.

During the July 8 meeting, Town Supervisor Lawrence Wilcox indicated that the board fielded some discussion regarding public comment, and said that often “it seems like sometimes we are being set up for public ridicule, not public comment.”

According to Lawrence, consultation with the NYS Association of Towns and an attorney yielded a recommendation for review of the appropriate sections of Town Law.

But state law does not require local town boards to grant any privilege of the floor to community members, and Wilcox reminded that he brought the practice to the people when he was elected into office as Supervisor back in 1998.

“When I was on the Town Board before I was Supervisor, there was no place in meetings for public comment,” said Wilcox. “One of the first items of business we did in 1998 was to establish a time for public comment period; five minutes per comment – and we have abided by that, for the most part.”