Council member proposes rescinding rule limiting public participation

A council member proposed rescinding a rule enacted roughly a year earlier that the member said limited public participation during meetings. The member argued that allowing members of the public to speak when they have relevant knowledge or questions would improve council deliberations.

"I like to rescind the ruling that we did a year or so ago for removing the public from being able to come here," said Committee member (Speaker 4). He said the proposal was to allow public input during discussion rather than only before or after a session and cited the usefulness of questions and local expertise. Other council members discussed whether in-meeting participation or limited pre-arranged comments would be appropriate. The council did not adopt a change at this meeting; the item was listed as a future item for further consideration.