Residents press council over sign seizure and request earlier public-comment time; one speaker raises tax concerns

Several residents used the public-comment period to press the Midland City Council for more transparency and to ask for answers about the removal of a yard sign on April 22.

Robin Campbell, a resident who identified herself from Ridgely, urged the council to move public comment to earlier in the meeting and allow longer time limits: "I noticed that there's several other cities that allow more than 3 minutes for public comment. I wish that y'all would consider that. It seems like, you know, the 3 minutes goes really fast." She also urged more transparency about city debt, saying, "If we're if our debt is going up, y'all aren't doing a good job."

Judd Campbell, another resident, called moving public comment and evening meeting times "easy" changes that would increase civic engagement. He also asked for spoken roll-call votes so viewers and attendees can clearly hear who made motions and how members voted.

Laurie Clark, who spoke about the April 22 sign removal incident, said she filed a police report and that staff told her city code-enforcement officers had training gaps. "I spoke with Tommy 2 times on April 23. He said that he accepted responsibility," Clark said, and she added she is pursuing further legal counsel to examine First Amendment concerns.

Speakers also raised tax and appraisal concerns. Clark asked about appraisal increases and asked for more transparency about appraisal decisions, flagging concerns about perceived unequal treatment in the appraisal-district process.

Council did not take immediate action during the meeting on the sign-seizure questions but staff and council members acknowledged the concerns and invited follow-up contact and formal records requests to obtain more detailed information.