Rockport Select Board adds guaranteed public-comment item and approves 3-minute limit with board discretion

The Rockport Select Board on July 13 voted unanimously to amend its bylaws to require a standing agenda item for public comment on non-agenda matters and to set a 3-minute speaking limit, with the chair and board retaining discretion to extend time.

The change, approved 5–0 after edits to clarify language, says "the Select Board shall include in its agenda for each regular meeting an item for public comment on non-agenda items" and that "everyone in attendance shall have the opportunity to comment for up to 3 minutes; the Board reserves the right to extend these time limits." Chair (identified in the transcript as the meeting's presiding member) explained the edits were intended to clarify expectations for members of the public and to preserve the board's ability to manage meeting flow.

Board members discussed whether the 3-minute limit should be strictly enforced or routinely extendable. One member said the board should try to treat speakers consistently but retain flexibility for substantive contributions; another proposed a single closing sentence giving the board explicit authority to extend time rather than parenthetical extensions within multiple sentences. After that change the body approved the bylaws as amended.

In a related action the board also unanimously moved, after discussion and a request for legal guidance, to extend the July 31 deadline for the town manager's written performance review until the board's August 3 meeting or until legal advice is received. Members said they sought clarity on which parts of the review are public record and which relate to personnel confidentiality.

Why it matters: The amendment formalizes a guaranteed public-comment opportunity at each regular meeting and makes time limits and the board's authority to extend them explicit. The board's decision to delay the manager review deadline reflects care about complying with statutory and personnel rules before finalizing written evaluations.

What's next: The board adopted the amended bylaws and the extended deadline; members said they would seek legal advice about public-versus-personnel aspects of the manager review and revisit any follow-up at the August 3 meeting.