St. Francis council adopts ordinance updating meeting procedures, extends public-comment/debate window

The City of St. Francis Common Council voted to adopt an ordinance repealing and recreating sections of the city code that govern common council meetings and agendas, and during debate approved an amendment extending the public-comment/debate period to one hour. The council’s action was taken by voice vote during the regular meeting.

The ordinance text presented to the council would repeal and recreate “section 30 two-two and section 30 two-six of the City of St. Francis Code of Ordinances,” language the council discussed during the meeting. Council members spoke at length about how to balance orderly meetings with residents’ rights to speak; as part of that discussion the council amended the proposed rules to lengthen the public-comment/debate allowance to one hour from a shorter, previously considered cap.

Supporters of the change said they wanted to avoid repeatedly interrupting a public-comment period with votes to extend time; other members raised concerns about meeting length and control of the meeting room. After an amendment to lengthen the public-comment/debate allowance was moved and seconded, the council approved the change by voice vote.

The ordinance was introduced, amended on the floor, and adopted at the same meeting. The council did not record a roll-call tally in the minutes for the ordinance vote; the motion passed by voice vote.

The change affects how the council schedules and manages public comment and debate at future meetings. The ordinance text and any implementing administrative procedures will determine how frequently and under what circumstances the extended allowance is used.

No litigation, budgetary figures, or external approvals were cited in the discussion; the ordinance will be entered in the City of St. Francis code and applied to subsequent council meetings.