A controversial policy restricting flags flying at City Hall in Watertown is getting another look.
In a tight vote of 3-2, the Watertown City Council voted to revise its flag policy. Council member Robert Kimball came up with the new plan, calling last year’s decision “hasty.”
"This would allow us to go back to doing what we had been doing for years, which is to celebrate some of the heritage of the community and communities within Watertown that add significantly to the history and the life of the community,” Kimball said.
The initial policy, approved in May 2024, would only allow the U.S. flag, the City of Watertown flag, a POW/MIA flag, and the Tree City USA flag to fly at City Hall.
Watertown was one of several New York state communities to enact new flag policies after the city of Boston lost a lawsuit for denying a request from a Christian group to fly its flag at City Hall.
The new policy will allow the Watertown City Council to consider flag requests and vote on them. But Mayor Sarah Compo Pierce voted against the proposal and said she was concerned.
"We are in such a climate of divisiveness right now with politics, with government, mainly on the national level, but I am concerned that picking and choosing who gets to fly flags and who doesn't is going to add to that divisiveness,” said Pierce.
She said she’s also worried the new policy will open the city up to potential legal challenges. Council member Ben Shoen also voted no.
