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Committee approves bylaw changes on gallery and elected‑official speaking time
Summary
The committee approved two bylaw amendments: one guaranteeing two uninterrupted minutes for gallery speakers, the other standardizing elected officials’ speaking limits (initial five minutes plus up to four questions and a 10‑minute response cap); the latter passed with one abstention.
The committee voted to adopt two proposed bylaw amendments affecting public speaking time. The first amendment, to Article 6, Section 13, guarantees gallery session speakers two minutes of uninterrupted speaking time. Chair Ryan Barthel moved to accept the changes and a member seconded; the motion passed unanimously.
The second amendment, to Article 6, Section 14, sets an initial five minutes of uninterrupted speaking time for elected officials and allows up to four questions or comments from board members with a total limit of 10 minutes for responses. The committee agreed to discard a proposed special carve‑out for the Bronx borough president and instead keep the general limits; the motion to adopt the second amendment passed with one recorded abstention.
Members discussed practical alternatives to a carve‑out for the borough president, including scheduling a separate town hall with her office so she could have more time without affecting regular meetings. The committee asked staff to coordinate with the borough president’s office regarding any separate town‑hall scheduling and to bring finalized language to the full board if necessary.
The committee did not expand speaking time for all elected officials beyond the new per‑meeting limits; rather, it adopted the text establishing the five‑minute initial period and the 10‑minute response cap for replies to questions, and advised leaders to trial procedural reminders (such as 30‑second warnings) on agendas prior to broader implementation.
