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Avondale Estates commissioners debate public-comment rules, ask staff to draft updated policy
Summary
In a lengthy work-session discussion the board debated public-comment timing and format and directed staff to draft a revised policy that would put public comment before action items, allow three minutes per speaker (no total cap), add a 10-minute break between regular meeting and work session, move the work session to table seating, and introduce comment cards for follow-up.
Avondale Estates’ Board of Mayor and Commissioners spent most of its Feb. 11 work session debating whether to change when and how the public speaks at meetings and how the board conducts work sessions.
Commissioner Steman opened the discussion by opposing “any further reduction in hearing from our citizens,” invoking the Georgia Constitution and state open-meetings law to argue public access must be preserved and saying she supports returning to separate work sessions and regular meetings with opportunities for public comment during both. “Public officers are trustees and servants of the people and are at all times amenable to them,” she said, urging transparent deliberations so residents can track how decisions are made.
Other commissioners exchanged competing views. Some said stacking the regular meeting and work session into one evening increases opportunities—calling it two meetings twice a month—while others said separate sessions better allow commissioners and staff to deliberate around a table and let the public “see the sausage being made.” Several commissioners proposed measures to balance access and order: requiring speakers to come to the podium (with reasonable exceptions for mobility), setting a three-minute limit per speaker while not imposing a total time cap, adding a defined 10-minute break between the regular meeting and the work session, and providing comment cards or slips so residents can submit written questions for staff to answer after the meeting.
The city manager said a 2018 policy currently governs public comment and asked for direction to prepare a draft revision. He summarized the draft elements discussed by the board: public comment prior to action items limited to three minutes per commenter with no overall time cap; a 10-minute break between the regular meeting and the work session; moving the work session to table seating with a concluding public-comment period restricted to work-session agenda items; and the option of comment cards to capture questions that staff would respond to later. Board members asked staff to include the 2018 policy with the new draft so the board can compare versions before adopting a new rule.
Public commenters urged clarity and convenience: residents suggested printing comment rules on agendas, using comment cards for questions that require follow-up, and considering later meeting times to boost attendance.
Next steps: staff will prepare a draft public-comment policy and attach the 2018 policy for the board’s review; the draft will return to the board as an action item for consideration and possible adoption.
