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Madison council to require sign-up, four-minute limit for end-of-meeting public comments
Summary
The Madison City Common Council announced it will implement provisions of Ordinance 2024-6 requiring citizens to sign up and limiting end-of-meeting public comments to four minutes, effective January 2025; the restriction does not apply to comments made on specific agenda items.
Carla Kreds, president pro tem of the Madison City Common Council, announced that beginning January 2025 the council will require citizens to sign in and will limit each speaker to four minutes during the meeting's public comment period.
Kreds said the change implements a provision of the council's rules ordinance adopted last October. "As of January 2025, we as a council would like to use these guidelines only for the public comment section of our meeting," she said.
The council adopted the underlying rule as part of Ordinance 2024-6, the Common Council Rules. Kreds clarified that the sign-up and time limit apply only to the general public-comment segment at the end of meetings; residents commenting on a specific ordinance or agenda item may speak at the podium during that item without pre-registering.
At the start of meetings the city will provide a clipboard for sign-ups, and Kreds said she will act as the timer to enforce the four-minute limit. The council said it will monitor the new process and continue it through the year.
No formal vote was recorded at the January 21 meeting to enact a new rule; the announcement implements the council's existing ordinance provisions.
Council staff said additional details about where to sign and any operational guidelines will be posted at the meeting entrance and on the city's agenda materials when applicable.
