Morris City Council moves citizens comments earlier in agenda and adopts revised standing rules

Morris City — The Morris City Council voted to relocate the citizens‑comments portion of its meeting to earlier in the agenda, telling residents the change is intended to make public participation more accessible.

During approval of the agenda, a council member moved to put citizens comments above public hearings. After discussion about whether comments were being used as late information presented immediately prior to votes, the motion passed and was later incorporated into the council’s 2026 standing rules. The standing‑rules resolution, which formally moves the citizens‑comments item to appear after agenda approval (item 5), passed by roll call.

Supporters of the change said placing comments earlier reduces the burden on people who attend meetings and prevents members of the public from waiting through lengthy agendas. One resident, Annette Watson of Morris, thanked the council for “moving the citizens comments forward” and urged that the standing rules be updated to reflect the change.

Opponents argued that keeping comments at the end gives councilmembers time to review information beforehand and avoid being confronted by detailed ‘information dumps’ right before decisions. Council debate acknowledged that, if a citizen’s remarks raise new issues requiring more review, the council can always table a decision and take additional time to consider it.

The change was implemented on the agenda for this meeting and was adopted as part of the 2026 standing rules. Council members recorded their votes on the standing‑rules resolution during a roll‑call vote recorded in the minutes.