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Court declines open public comment, citing claim-docket procedure
Summary
The presiding officer said the court would not take open public comment because the meeting centered on the claim docket and staff advised that public comment was not permitted for that agenda item; an attendee pressed the court and was warned about decorum.
The Dimmit County Commissioners Court announced that it would not take open public comment at the meeting, saying the agenda centered on an "informed 2.1 claim docket" and that staff had advised the court public comment was not appropriate for that item.
The announcement came after a participant asked to speak and suggested an agenda item had been removed to prevent the remarks. The Chair said there was no public comment for the item and warned the participant to lower their voice and preserve decorum: "If you don't keep your voice down and you don't keep your form and score, I'm gonna have it removed," the Chair said. The participant continued to press the point and commissioners discussed procedural boundaries before proceeding with the docket.
The transcript records no formal change to the public-comment policy at the meeting; the court relied on staff guidance for that session and proceeded with consideration of the claim docket.
