Council adopts ordinance moving public comment period to 6 p.m.

The Hampton City Council approved an ordinance amending council procedure to establish a public comment period beginning at 6:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday prior to regular council meetings, removing the audience period from the end of the regular meeting.

Mayor Ward and staff described the change as a housekeeping measure that codifies a practice the council began testing last month. Ms. Bunting said the intent is to give citizens a predictable time to address council close to decision points: "rather than speaking about it after it's already happened, I think it's much more fruitful to us as decision makers to hear it before we make a decision instead of afterwards." Council members pressed staff on overflow rules, whether minutes would be taken and whether the 6:00 p.m. session would be televised; the clerk and staff confirmed the 6:00 p.m. meeting is a public meeting, minutes are recorded and it will be in the record.

Council discussed accommodations if more than the planned hour's worth of speakers appear at 6:00 p.m. Staff said small overflow would be handled by extending into the regular meeting or by taking remaining speakers at 7:00 p.m.; in exceptional cases staff said remaining speakers could be heard later in the evening. The mayor and several council members said they favored trying the arrangement and revisiting it if problems emerge. The ordinance passed on a roll call with all members voting "Aye."