Council postpones vote on new public-comment and decorum rules after hours of debate over access and legal risk

City attorneys presented proposed amendments to the council's rules of procedure on June 18 intended to clarify that council meetings operate as a limited public forum and to add decorum and time-management tools. The recommendations were framed as a way to give the chair and the city legal protections when enforcing viewpoint-neutral, reasonable rules.

Martin Shelby (City Council Attorney) and Scott Steady (City Attorney) briefed council on legal trends in the 11th Circuit and on recent case law. Shelby said well-drafted rules of decorum help courts recognize a limited public forum, which in turn gives the council greater authority to set reasonable time limits and topic constraints. Steady and Shelby advised that moving general public comment to the end of meetings is one option to ensure "public business" gets addressed first, but they said a range of alternatives exist, including time-limited public comment early in the meeting or bifurcating comment by agenda items and general city-related matters.

Council members expressed a range of concerns. Some members said strict limits are needed to protect the chair from disruptions and possible litigation; others said moving off-agenda comment to the end of a long meeting would deny access to people who cannot wait all day (seniors, people who rely on pre-booked transport). Several council members proposed hybrid approaches, including scheduled limited public comment windows, prioritizing on-agenda speakers first, or holding additional evening town-hall meetings.

After extended debate and several proposed motions, Chair Alan Clendenin withdrew a motion to adopt the attorneys' draft immediately and the council voted to move the item to a workshop next week so each member can review the underlined/strike-through draft and consult with the attorneys individually. Council asked staff and attorneys to return with section-by-section proposals and to consider member proposals (time limits, handling of ceremonial items, workshop rules, CRA alignment and card systems).

What to expect: the rules are not changed today. The council set a near-term workshop to continue the review; staff and attorneys will try to incorporate member feedback and present options, including step-by-step amendments for council votes in the future.

Sources: On-the-record presentations by the city and council attorneys and council-member statements at the June 18 meeting.