Rules committee OKs public comment on standing-committee agendas; debates decorum, signage and mayor remarks

The Wausau Rules Review Committee voted to add public-comment opportunities to standing-committee agendas, allowing comment tied to agenda items. The committee also debated consistent time limits, chairs’ discretion, decorum expectations in the council chambers, limits on signage, and whether the mayor’s recurring “communications and recommendations” agenda slot should be more specific and backed by packet material.

Alder Terry Killian called herself “a strong proponent of public comment,” saying residents should not be required to wait through long meetings to speak. Killian moved a rule change “that on standing committees’ agendas, public comment be allowed based on the agenda items.” Alder Vicky Tierney seconded a version of the motion; members added a friendly amendment to include boards and commissions. The committee voted in favor; the transcript records the motion as agreed to.

Discussion divided around three main concerns. Several members said standing committees should agendize public comment for items on their agendas so residents can speak where the work is done; others warned against allowing public comment during council consideration of agenda items because it can disrupt the flow and encourages unregistered speakers. Multiple members urged consistent enforcement of the three-minute time limit now used in council meetings; one member noted the three-minute rule applies to council but not universally to committees.

Committee members and the mayor raised decorum issues after recent contentious meetings. Speakers urged a short, consistently read statement at the start of meetings reminding attendees of decorum rules; the committee agreed staff would draft suggested wording modeled on wording used by the local school district (the school-district template includes: "The presiding officer values civil discourse and may interrupt, terminate or prohibit public comments that do not adhere to these rules."). Several members asked staff and the city attorney for advice on whether the committee can restrict signage in chambers and on whether a broadly worded agenda slot for mayoral communications risks violating open-meetings notice requirements.

Mayor Denis, who attended the rules meeting, said the item "grew out of" a contentious October 8 meeting and that some other Wisconsin cities include mayor announcements as a standing agenda item. He asked staff to work with the city attorney to clarify appropriate use of the communications slot and to distinguish between routine announcements and policy presentations that should be separately agendized with packet materials.

The committee directed staff to: draft standard opening language on decorum for chairs to read; seek legal guidance on signage limits and agenda specificity under open-meetings law; and return to the Rules Review Committee in April with recommended wording. No ordinance text was adopted at this meeting; the committee voted to advance the standing-committee public-comment language as its expressed position for inclusion in the council rules process.