Parker council amends and adopts new public-comment rules, requires 24‑hour emailed submissions

The Parker City Council on Dec. 16 approved revised rules of procedure for public comments, tightening some limits and clarifying submission requirements while preserving the standard three-minute speaker allotment.

Council considered a draft resolution (2025-877) that originally allowed 10-minute requests for some speakers. Multiple councilmembers opposed that long slot, citing the potential for repetitive or promotional remarks; the council removed the 10-minute option. Members also debated whether residents should be allowed to donate their three-minute slots to another speaker; after discussion council kept the three-minute individual limit but declined to permit unconstrained aggregation of donated minutes, while noting a limited donation mechanism could be revisited.

The council amended the written-submission rule to require comments be submitted via email to publiccomments@parkertx.us at least 24 hours before a meeting so council and staff have time to review material. The motion also instructed staff to add a 'city' field to the comment card so officials can easily see whether a speaker is a Parker resident. The resolution, as amended, passed without recorded opposition (motion carries 5-0).

City staff said emailed public comments received after the 24-hour cutoff will be forwarded to council but attach to the minutes of the next meeting; staff retained flexibility to accept late submissions to council's discretion. The council directed staff to return an amended comment card and the resolution at the Jan. 6 meeting for finalization and publication.

The new procedures take effect after staff finalizes the amended language and publishes the comment card as directed.