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Mesquite councilors introduce change to public-comment rules, propose deletion of middle comment period
Summary
Council members moved to introduce a bill to amend Mesquite Municipal Code 1-6-5 governing public comment, proposing to restrict the first in-meeting comment period to agenda items and to keep a final, open public-comment period after council business; a separate proposal would delete subsection F2 so only a final comment period remains.
The mayor presided over a technical review session where council members introduced a bill to change Mesquite Municipal Code 1-6-5 on public-comment procedures.
Council member Martin introduced the ordinance change as an initial bill to amend section F1 of the rules of procedure, which would alter how public-comment opportunities are scheduled. Councilman Parrish described the proposal in more detail, saying "the first period of the comment should be restricted to items on the agenda," with a secondary, final period after council business open to all viewpoints, including agendized items.
A staff member reminded the group that introducing a bill is a preliminary step: the council would hold a later public hearing and could consider the ordinance more fully at that time. Councilman Parrish also proposed deleting subsection F2 from the code so the beginning comment period would be removed and only the final public-comment period would remain; staff cautioned that the two proposals could conflict and said they would provide input when the bill is formally introduced.
Council members moved and seconded the item to add the ordinance introduction to the upcoming agenda; the mayor called for public comment on that motion, received none, and the council advanced the introduction to a future meeting.
The council did not adopt substantive rule changes at this session; the discussion was limited to adding the ordinance introduction to the agenda and proposing deletion of F2 for future consideration. The item will return for formal public hearing and possible action at a subsequent meeting.
