City Council adopts changes to public-comment sign-up, question rules and meeting time

The City Council voted late in the meeting to revise how members of the public sign up for and participate in public comment, and also approved a change to the council's meeting time.

Councilmembers approved four related items after discussion and public comment. The council adopted a rule to hold a 5:30 p.m. public-comment period for agenda items and other city business with sign-ups required by 4 p.m.; it approved removing the separate sign-up requirement for individual agenda items; it approved allowing members of the public to pose questions during public comment (while council debated limits tied to the Open Meetings Act); and it approved a change to the council's meeting time. All motions were described on the record as carried by voice vote; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally or the names of motion makers and seconders.

Why it matters: The package changes when and how residents can speak during council meetings and clarifies whether the council may answer questions asked from the audience. Councilmembers said the changes were intended to restore a simpler sign-up process that existed before a recent change in procedure and to accommodate residents who arrive later in the evening.

Councilmember Rachel Caballero, District 1, told the council during public comment that residents "have never had to sign up to speak on the agenda items. We should not have to speak, sign up to speak per the agenda item." That sentiment figured in the council's decision to remove the separate sign-up requirement for agenda items and to revert to the earlier practice of allowing public comment without an agenda-item sign-up.

During debate, several councilmembers and staff discussed logistics and fairness for residents who arrive early or late. One councilmember described a recent meeting where roughly 30 people attended public comment and noted that splitting who could speak before and after 5:30 p.m. meant not everyone would speak at the earlier or later slot. Councilmembers said the 4 p.m. sign-up deadline for the 5:30 p.m. comment block is intended to give staff time to organize the list.

Members also debated whether audience questions should be permitted if the council cannot answer them without violating the Open Meetings Act. Staff member Miles said the council's prior practice may have been an overinterpretation of that statute: "That's a kind of a it's a bit of an over interpretation of the Open Meetings Act to say that you cannot respond. ... The open meetings act says that you're not supposed to talk about an item on the agenda except for statements of facts." That legal view was cited during discussion; the council nonetheless approved the item allowing audience questions, while participants acknowledged limits on council discussion of non-agendized matters.

The council approved a separate item described on the record as changing the council's meeting time (participants referred to a move to a 4 p.m. start), and that motion was also recorded as carried by voice vote.

The council emphasized that staff (including Rebecca Huerta, identified in the meeting) had worked on the procedures and that the changes were intended to reduce confusion created at the meeting where the revised rules were first used. A councilmember praised Huerta's staff for the work putting the procedure materials together.

The meeting record shows the decisions were made late in the session; the clerk noted the time as "11:38" for the record before adjournment.

Votes at a glance - Item 27 — Establish 5:30 p.m. public-comment block for agenda items/other city business with sign-up required by 4 p.m.: approved (voice vote; mover/second not specified; tally not recorded in transcript). - Item 28 — Remove sign-up requirement for individual agenda items (revert to prior practice): approved (voice vote; mover/second not specified; tally not recorded in transcript). - Item 29 — Allow members of the public to ask questions during public comment (council discussed limits tied to the Open Meetings Act): approved (voice vote; mover/second not specified; tally not recorded in transcript). - Item 30 — Change council meeting time (referred to as move to 4 p.m.): approved as amended (voice vote; mover/second not specified; tally not recorded in transcript).

What the council did not do: The record does not show roll-call counts, names of motion proposers or seconders for the recorded votes, nor does it record specific enforcement details (for example, how staff will handle late sign-ups beyond the 4 p.m. deadline). Those implementation details were discussed but not specified in the motions on the record.

The council adjourned after completing these items; the clerk closed the record and noted the hour.