Mayor bans public from asking questions at meetings

EVESHAM, N.J. - A New Jersey mayor has banned the public from asking questions at township council meetings.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Evesham Mayor Randy Brown began the policy this year.

Brown is also the kicking coach for the Baltimore Ravens, and was part of the team's 2012-2013 championship run, CBS Philadelphia reports.

It came after a tense meeting in December in which a resident asked about a tax abatement. Brown spoke over the question.

The questioner, 81-year-old Kenneth Mills, told Brown, "You're acting like a jerk."

Since then, the council has allowed only public comments, not questions, at meetings.

The Republican mayor has said he may run for governor in 2017. He tells the Inquirer that most residents ask him questions in other settings. He says those who have questions at public meetings "try to turn it into the Spanish Inquisition."