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Council will revisit possible time limits on member remarks after staff survey of peer cities
Summary
Council received a staff survey showing a wide variety of practices among peer cities and voted to bring a proposed policy back at a future meeting. Members expressed concern about limiting deliberation but signaled support for reasonable time limits on closing remarks.
City staff presented a survey Oct. 28 showing that other cities use a wide range of approaches to council-member speaking limits. The council discussed whether limits should apply to initial comments, deliberations on business items or only to closing remarks, and whether the mayor should have discretion to temporarily suspend limits during complex deliberations.
Several council members said they worried that strict time limits could constrain thoughtful deliberation during important policy discussions. Others said limits on end-of-meeting remarks would help keep meetings focused and respectful of public time. A number of peer-city examples were discussed: some jurisdictions limit comments to five minutes; others allow a longer initial comment and shorter subsequent comments; one city allows unused time to carry over.
After discussion the council voted to bring the item back at the next meeting with proposed language for action. The vote to return the item was approved by voice vote.
