Coffee CountyLegislative Committee members on Sept. 29 debated a draft public-comment policy that would list the public-comment period first on agendas, limit participation to 10 Coffee County residents and give each speaker up to three minutes. After extended discussion about whether speakers should be allowed to donate their time to another speaker, the committee voted to send the draft back to the Policies and Procedures committee with a recommendation to clarify when donated time may be used.

The draft read into the record by the Legislative Committee chair said the policy would "provide each person with a maximum of 3 minutes to speak during the public comment period" and that "donations of speaking time it will not be permitted." The chair read the policy language to the committee before discussion.

The policy text the committee reviewed also says the public-comment period will be listed first on the agenda, that the commission "shall allow a maximum of 10 Coffee County residents to speak during the public comment period," and that the commission will use a physical sign-up sheet that records name, street address, county of residence, agenda topic and whether the speaker is for, against or neutral on the item.

"That's the only issue I have with the whole thing," said Commissioner Miller, referencing the proposed prohibition on donated time. "I think we're taking away rights of the citizens by having that in there." Commissioner Brown and others said they supported some ability to donate time, but only after ensuring other agenda topics also receive the chance for comment.

Committee discussion focused on how to balance a fair opportunity across multiple agenda topics with the goal of preventing public-comment periods that run many hours. Several commissioners described past public-comment sessions that lasted an hour and a half and said a maximum total (the draft equates 10 speakers at three minutes each to 30 minutes total) would prevent late-night meetings.

After discussion, a motion to forward the draft back to Policies and Procedures with a recommendation that "donation of time cannot be considered until other agenda items requested to be covered have been addressed" passed on a committee vote. Committee members agreed to have a representative attend the next Policies and Procedures meeting to present the committee's concerns.

The committee did not adopt the draft policy as written. The action returns the draft to Policies and Procedures for revision to incorporate the committee's recommended clarifying language before it goes to the full commission.

The Policies and Procedures committee, the Legislative Committee and the full commission will each see revised language before any new public-comment policy is adopted by the commission.