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Alexander City council adopts on-the-spot public-comment option for agenda items
Summary
At its Nov. 6 meeting the Alexander City Council adopted a new rule allowing members of the public to speak for up to three minutes about items on the agenda before votes, a change officials said was intended to increase transparency and allow voices earlier in the process.
The Alexander City Council on Nov. 6 introduced a new public-comment procedure allowing speakers to address agenda items for three minutes before council votes.
“ If there's something on the agenda you wanna speak about. We'll give you 3 minutes,” Unidentified Speaker 1 said while introducing the change, saying the council wanted to “be transparent and give everybody an opportunity to speak.”
Council members framed the change as procedural and aimed at improving engagement: the chair said the move came after councilors noticed that residents sometimes could not speak on matters before votes were taken. The rule was presented as part of the meeting’s opening announcements and will apply to agenda items rather than to separate public hearings.
Council did not vote on a written ordinance at the meeting; staff indicated the practice will begin immediately and be implemented going forward. The council said more specific administrative details (timekeeping, registration at the meeting, and any limits beyond three minutes) will be handled by meeting procedures and staff guidance.
The change does not replace formal public hearings required by state law for zoning or other statutorily regulated items; council members repeatedly noted that statutory hearings and notice requirements remain in effect.
