Council votes to reinstate time limits on public comment pending legal review

The Committee of the Whole reviewed a required update to the city’s citizen-comment policy following changes enacted by the North Dakota Legislature. The law change expands who may speak at public meetings; staff asked whether the council wanted to set speaker time limits and total public-comment limits. After extended discussion among council members about whether to restrict speaker time or the number of speakers, the council agreed to a temporary rule: three minutes per speaker and a 30-minute total allotment for public comment. Council members asked staff to provide a memo summarizing how peer cities handle speaker limits in North Dakota and to provide legal guidance on any statutory constraints. The council chair said staff would obtain an opinion from the city attorney and bring a memo by the end of the week. Discussion included concerns about out-of-town commenters, whether comments should occur before or after agenda items, and whether separate public-hearing processes would apply to specific agenda items. A motion to adopt three minutes per speaker and a 30-minute total was carried with Council Member Berg dissenting; council directed staff to return with legal guidance and comparisons to other jurisdictions.