San Jose board removes 30‑minute item cap from public‑comment policy, keeps per‑speaker limits

The San Jose retirement board unanimously moved on April 15 to revise its public‑comment policy by removing a 30‑minute per‑item time cap and related discretionary extension language, while retaining per‑speaker time limits and adding language defining prohibited obscene materials.

Staff said the proposed change is intended to align the board’s written policy with the Brown Act and to avoid limiting members of the public. “Technically compliant with the Brown Act … we do not recommend that we would want to limit the public in any way in their comments,” staff told trustees during the governance committee report.

The policy change means the chair will no longer have a standing discretionary 10‑minute extension tied to a fixed 30‑minute cap; however, the board retains tools to manage a meeting when hundreds of commenters appear, including reordering the agenda and adjusting per‑speaker time if necessary. Trustees discussed practical crowd-management concerns and asked staff to retain the ability to handle volume in a way that keeps meetings functional.

Why it matters: Public‑comment procedures affect how and when community members can address trustees on pensions, benefits and governance topics. The board also added a brief clarification on prohibited obscenities to the written policy. Staff said the revisions were reviewed during the governance committee and align broadly with similar local boards’ practices.

The board approved the change on a motion during the meeting; staff will post the revised policy in board materials and incorporate the new template into the governance review work plan.