Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
County commissioners discuss limits on public testimony, propose 20‑minute nonagenda period
Summary
The Multnomah County Board debated capping non‑agenda public testimony to 20 minutes (three minutes per speaker with provision for interpreters), and discussed options to improve the influence of testimony on agenda items and to stage prior briefings for contentious items.
Multnomah County commissioners debated how much time to allot for non‑agenda public testimony and how to structure testimony on agenda items so community input can meaningfully influence decisions.
Chief of Staff Jenny Smith told the board the county currently allows signups for non‑agenda public testimony through the Wednesday before a meeting, accepts in‑person signups the day of the meeting and typically allows up to 12 speakers (three minutes each, reduced to two minutes if more than nine signups) to keep non‑agenda testimony to about 30 minutes.
“Currently Multnomah County's practice is to accept…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
