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City manager: state law allows removing public comment from committee agendas
Summary
City Manager Brian Latta told the Dallas Urban Renewal Advisory Committee that state law does not require committees to allow public comment, and the city has removed a standing public-comment item from most committee agendas to make procedures uniform.
Chair Rody opened the meeting by asking whether the agenda still included a public-comment item and whether that had been removed. Brian Latta, the city manager, said the item had been removed from most committee agendas and explained the legal and procedural basis.
"State law doesn't require it—it requires meetings like this to be public, you know, made available to the public. We record them and and livestream them, but, we're not required to accept public comment," Latta said. He added that removal of a standing public-comment item was meant to avoid turning committee meetings into an "open mic night" and that committees could still solicit public input on specific agenda items such as grant applications or program proposals.
Latta said the change was intended to create uniform practice across city committees and commissions, not to prevent interaction between committee members and the public about agenda topics.
Committee members and other staff noted that the presiding officer still has discretion to solicit public input during discussion of specific agenda items. No formal action or policy amendment was taken at the meeting; the discussion was a staff explanation of an administrative practice.
The committee did not take a vote on the public-comment practice during this meeting. Members discussed how the change affects opportunities for public input and confirmed that subject-specific public engagement can still be arranged when staff or the presiding officer deem it appropriate.
