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Council discusses rules on public comment, decorum and motion-to-reconsider; staff to draft revised language
Summary
Decorah’s council debated adding a three-minute public-comment guideline (with mayoral discretion), decorum language, and a mechanism to waive rules by supermajority; members also discussed changing motion-to-reconsider timing to allow items to be revisited after subsequent city elections.
City staff and council members spent an extended portion of the meeting reviewing proposed amendments to council rules and procedures, focusing on public-comment time limits, speaker decorum, the motion-to-reconsider rule, and a possible waiver mechanism.
Staff described suggested language that would state each person “shall be given approximately three minutes” during public comment but allow the mayor to shorten time when many speakers are expected. “If you adopt it as hard and fast in the council rules… it’s 3 minutes,” a staff member said, but noted the mayor historically announces a time limit at the start of public comment and can adjust based on meeting circumstances.
Council members debated how prescriptive the rules should be. Some argued for clearer, consistently applied limits so speakers know what to expect; others cautioned against limiting speech and recommended phrasing that encourages decorum rather than criminalizing content. One council member proposed moving decorum language into a request or encouragement section rather than an enforceable prohibition, citing split federal appellate guidance on restricting speaker content.
Separately, staff proposed adding language to allow waiver of council rules by a supermajority (recommended threshold discussed: three‑fourths of the quorum) to provide flexibility for exceptional situations. On motion-to-reconsider, council members discussed adjusting the timing so that a vote taken by a prior council could be reconsidered after a new council member is seated or after a subsequent city election; staff said the current rule allows reconsideration only by a member who voted with the majority or any member in the event of a tie.
Staff will return with revised wording that incorporates the council’s direction, including suggested language that public-comment time be “approximately three minutes unless otherwise designated by the mayor,” and a proposed waiver clause for the rules.
