Prescott council tightens public decorum, clarifies presentation rules

The Prescott City Council adopted updates to its rules of procedure Sept. 9 that clarify expectations for public comment and in‑chamber conduct, and that set procedures for how members of the public can provide materials to council. The adopted changes add that a member of the public may not speak more than once on a subject during an agendized public-comment period and that groups should identify a single representative to present on behalf of the group during agendized discussion. The revisions also require that members of the public who wish to speak on an agendized item complete and submit a blue comment card with name, residence and the item they wish to address; cards will be called in the order received. The rules now reserve the council’s projection system for staff presentations but permit a public speaker to request that staff-presented slides or maps for the agendized item be displayed while the speaker comments. The rewrite bans clapping, booing and other audible audience reactions in chambers and allows continued disruptive behavior to be grounds for removal. Council members debated implementation and enforcement. Councilman Moore said if the city expects compliance from the public it must apply consequences consistently. Councilwoman Freeworth raised concerns that a single three-minute limit may be constraining for groups with complex technical points and reiterated existing processes for scheduling formal presentations on the agenda. City staff agreed to add explicit language allowing the public to request that the staff’s presentation slides for a given agendized item be returned to the projector when making comments. The council approved the resolution adopting the changes, as amended, by a 5–0 vote.