Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Fort Worth council restores additional public-comment opportunities, requires vote to cut speaker time
Summary
After hours of public testimony, the Fort Worth City Council adopted CP 3-35 to double regular public-comment opportunities and amended rules so any reduction of an individual's speaking time below three minutes requires a majority council vote, a change proponents said restores access and opponents said risks longer meetings.
The Fort Worth City Council voted on Jan. 13 to restore additional regular public-comment opportunities and to change council procedure so that any reduction in an individual speaker’s allotted time below three minutes must be approved by a majority of the full council. The action came after more than two hours of public testimony calling for more access, virtual participation, and predictability in speaking order.
Supporters of the resolution — which staff and several council members framed as an attempt to balance public access with the city’s business calendar — said the change expanded opportunities for residents to address elected officials. “We signed up to do this. We…
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
