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Council asks law director to rewrite public‑comment language after debate on committee participation
Summary
After a lengthy debate about whether to allow public comment at committee meetings, the body unanimously asked the law director to rewrite the Rule 2 paragraph to clarify whether chair discretion or a standing on‑agenda public comment slot should be used.
Fairview Park council members debated how and when the public should be allowed to speak during Committee of the Whole sessions and ultimately directed staff to rewrite the rule governing requests to address council.
Councilwoman Waring opened discussion by offering two broad approaches — amend the rules item by item or scrap and rewrite them — and asked members how they wanted to handle public participation during committee work. Councilwoman Mann recommended allowing public comment before discussion so committee members can hear concerns and address misconceptions early. Waring said she favored keeping the committee a working session while also increasing accessibility and suggested leaving specific openings to the discretion of the committee chair.
Law Director Steve Deaver advised that Ohio’s open‑meetings law (Revised Code section 121.22 was cited in the discussion) guarantees notice and the right to attend, but practice around taking public comment in committee is generally left to the chair’s discretion. Based on that guidance, the committee voted 7–0 to ask the law director to draft clearer language that would allow the chair to exercise discretion about public comment at committee meetings.
Councilmembers asked staff to return recommended wording and to consider options for when public input most usefully informs deliberations (for example, comments before discussion on first read items or an on‑agenda slot after committee discussion).
