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Public commenter told to return after dispute over sign-up deadline at meeting
Summary
A person identifying themself as Jerry Michael disputed staff enforcement of the public-comment sign-up rule, saying earlier guidance differed; meeting staff cited an ordinance requiring sign-up by 9:15 and forbidding consecutive appearances and invited the commenter to speak next week.
Jerry Michael, a public commenter, was told to return at a future meeting after a dispute with meeting staff over the deadline to sign up for public comment.
The moderator told the commenter that the municipal ordinance governing public comment "does say, Ms. Michael, that you have to sign up by" the stated deadline and that "you cannot speak consecutively," and invited the speaker to "come back next week" to speak within the ordinance's rules. The moderator later reiterated that sign-ups must be completed by 9:15.
Jerry Michael disputed that account, saying the moderator had said a different deadline at a meeting in late May and telling officials that the prior remark was "on video." The commenter pressed that the publicly stated deadline had been 9:30 at that prior meeting.
The transcript shows inconsistent references to the sign-up cutoff: at one point staff refers to "9:30," while the moderator repeatedly states that sign-ups are required by "9:15." The transcript also contains the comment, "Please, do not break the public's trust. It is on video," attributed to the commenter.
No formal motion, vote, or ordinance citation by name is recorded in the transcript; staff repeatedly cited "our ordinance" but did not provide its formal designation in the spoken record. The meeting closed the exchange by asking the commenter to follow procedures and inviting them to speak at the next meeting; the transcript does not record any procedural appeal or formal challenge to the staff interpretation.
The exchange centers on enforcement of public-comment procedures rather than on a policy decision; the moderator said staff would welcome the commenter back next week, and no formal action was taken on the record.
