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Brookpark council votes 6–1 to cut public-comment time to 3 minutes
Summary
The council approved an amendment to Rule 19 reducing public-comment allotments from five minutes to three minutes, a change the president said takes effect in two weeks; Councilman Poindexter cast the lone no vote.
Brookpark’s City Council voted 6–1 on Jan. 20 to amend Rule 19, shortening public‑comment time during regular and special council meetings from five minutes to three minutes.
The change was read into the record and moved for adoption; Councilman Poindexter recorded the lone dissent. The council president said the amendment will go into effect two weeks from the meeting and that tonight the body would continue to follow the five‑minute rule because the amendment had not yet taken effect.
Supporters cited the need to keep meetings efficient and manageable. Opponents and several residents later told the council they feared shorter public-comment windows and said they had experienced limited opportunities to ask questions at recent project meetings. Resident Ray Peterlin told the council he and others felt questions from residents went unanswered at a recent recreation center and school meeting and said, “Residents came out in a blizzard, freezing temperatures to have their questions answered” but left without answers.
Council members and staff said the presiding officer retains discretion to extend time for speakers in cases where additional comment is warranted.
Next procedural steps: the president said the council will distribute the updated rules and implement the three‑minute allotment two weeks after the Jan. 20 meeting.
