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City attorney: council can add study-session comments but must keep public comment in regular meeting
Summary
Council considered relocating visitor comments to the end of the agenda; staff counsel advised study-session comment is permissible but the Open Public Meetings Act requires public comment during regular meetings that take final action, and recommended structured item-specific comment blocks.
Council members discussed a proposal to move visitor comments to the end of the agenda. The city's legal advisor (Speaker 7) told the council the change is possible for study sessions but cautioned that the Open Public Meetings Act requires an opportunity for public comment during regular meetings that take final action.
"You will still have to have public comment in the regular meeting because under the open public meetings act, you have to allow some public comment during any sort of meeting where you take what's known as final action," the staff member (Speaker 7) said, recommending item-specific comment windows or structured, limited exchanges so the council can receive input without disruptive back-and-forth.
Council members debated whether to allow limited exchanges during public comment and agreed staff should craft proposed language that permits brief answers but avoids debate during the comment period. No final policy change was adopted during the session.
