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Stakeholders and councilors back limiting initial public comment to non-agenda topics
Summary
A stakeholder urged removing the initial public comment period to avoid duplication; council members discussed restricting opening public comment to non-agenda items and enforcing that rule going forward.
A resident group speaker and council members discussed changing the council’s public-comment process so the early public-comment period does not duplicate comments made on agenda items.
Rick McIntyre, representing neighborhood stakeholders, said he supports eliminating the first public comment period because when speakers comment on agenda items at the start of the meeting “it gets lost in the process.” He said consolidating comments would reduce repetition in the chambers: “3 minutes times a hundred is a lot of talk.”
Councilman Wallace asked staff if the city could follow a practice used by the Regional Transportation Commission and limit the opening public-comment period to matters not on the agenda. Mike (city staff member) confirmed the practice is permissible, and council members agreed to enforce the rule more strictly. No formal ordinance or procedural amendment was proposed or adopted during the session; the discussion concluded with the mayor moving the meeting to adjournment.
