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Council to guarantee public comment at regular meetings, leave time limits to rules
Summary
Sweet Home councilors agreed to require public comment at regularly scheduled council meetings but to leave minute limits and chair discretion to council rules rather than the charter, after legal counsel warned a hard time limit in the charter could create liability.
Councilors debated whether to enshrine public comment and any time limits in the charter or leave those details to council rules. Several councilors said they wanted the charter to guarantee that the public "always have an opportunity to speak," while the city attorney cautioned that putting a specific time limit in the charter could create legal exposure if the limit were not precisely followed.
Councilors described the current practice as allowing three minutes per speaker (with the chair having discretion to adjust) and said they were comfortable guaranteeing public comment will occur at regularly scheduled council meetings while leaving the specific time allotment and enforcement details to the council rules. Councilor Sanchez urged codifying at least the guarantee of public comment so a future council could not eliminate it entirely.
The council instructed staff to draft language stating that public comment will be provided at regularly scheduled council meetings, with time limits and related procedures to be specified and adjustable in the council rules.
Next steps: staff to draft a short charter sentence guaranteeing public comment at regular meetings and to propose rule language for time limits and chair discretion.
