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Dickinson commission delays change to public-comment rules until new commissioner arrives
Summary
Commissioners voted to keep the city’s current citizen comment guideline in place rather than adopt staff-drafted changes meant to mirror state legislation. The move follows a lengthy debate about whether the city should limit comments to topics on the current or a preceding agenda.
The Dickinson City Commission voted May 20 to leave its existing citizen comment guideline in place and defer a proposed update that would align the policy with recently enacted state legislation.
The change was proposed by City Administrator Kevin Dossinger to reflect the language of Senate Bill 2180 and to remove the current policy language that barred comments “not on the agenda.” The item drew extended discussion among commissioners about whether the city should limit public comments to items on the current meeting agenda or the preceding meeting’s agenda.
Dossinger told the commission the packet included a redline of the policy that mirrored the new state law and that the suggested edits remove “not on the agenda” language and add provisions allowing the presiding officer to direct speakers. He described the proposed language as the state’s statutory wording.
Commissioner Baer said he opposed the tighter restriction proposed in the redline. “I do have a problem… I don't like limiting people to say they can't bring up those issues,” he said, arguing some residents have city matters that are not already on an agenda and should be allowed to raise them during public comment. Other commissioners said the new law constrains local policies and noted there are alternative avenues for residents to raise service-level problems with staff.
City Attorney Wanko cautioned the commission that broadening the definition of “city business” could create ambiguous determinations about what the commission must accept and might expose the city to legal challenge, leaving the presiding officer and commissioners to exercise discretion.
After further discussion, Commissioner Baer moved to keep the current policy in place until a newly elected commissioner takes office. The motion, seconded by Commissioner Frederick, passed on a unanimous vote.
The commission’s motion preserves the city’s existing guideline and directs staff to bring the item back for consideration after the new commissioner is seated. Dossinger noted the state law will not take full effect in Dickinson until Aug. 1, 2025, and staff said the city can revisit the policy at a later meeting.
